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This is the page where you can review questions and stories from patients, view the opinions of lay persons, and see answers from Dr. Bermant and other physicians. Do you want to ask a question, post an answer, or make a comment? Information E-mailed to me will be considered for posting.
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Information posted in this section does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Dr. Bermant.
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More on Liposuction
Tummy tuck
Facelift / Neck lift (rhytidectomy)
Patient photographs before and after surgery
Gynecomastia - Breast Reduction in Men
After Pregnancy What Plastic Surgery has to offer
Patient photographs before and after surgery of the abdominal wall
Breast ptosis mastopexy
Facelift surgery (rhytidectomy)
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Visit the Liposuction Book Store from Barnes and Noble Check our the Frequently Asked Question Section - Liposuction A Tribute to Dr. Bermant - Revision Liposuction After Prior Surgery in Texas by Another Surgeon In - - - I elected to have liposuction. I found a surgeon in Texas, where I lived, who is Board Certified, a member of the ASPS, with a fancy web page and a nice office. I felt that with his credentials, he would do a good and safe procedure. He spent only10 minutes in the office with me before my procedure! I was not completely comfortable, but I went ahead with surgery anyway. Although I had no infections, I had massive bruising, swelling, and burning pain for many weeks after the surgery. My visible bruises lasted for 6 months after. I was also left with a large lumpy ridge of fat between my upper belly and lower belly, and very uneven flank areas. I did not wear a bathing suit for over a year, and did not let my midriff show at all. I was very disappointed, and my body image was very low. When I found Dr. Bermant’s web page, I became much more educated on liposuction. I contacted Dr. Bermant’s office in the winter , to see if he could even out my lumps, and make me look normal. Dr. Bermant was very thorough in explaining everything about the surgery, step by step, for the entire procedure. He made sure that I understood that he could help smooth out the disfigurement, but that certain areas were beyond correction; too much fat had been removed. I felt exceptionally confident in Dr. Bermant after his examination and theory. Any improvement he could make on what had been done to my body would be satisfactory. My surgery with Dr. Bermant far surpassed my expectations! My midsection now looks normal, I had very little after-surgery pain, absolutely no visible bruising, and although it has only been 10 days since my surgery, I would put on my bikini and walk along a crowded beach today! Dr. Bermant and his staff went out of their way to make me as comfortable as possible before and after the procedure, and explained every action they made while I was awake before the surgery. Even during the office visits, Nurse Jane was just as polite and accommodating as she could be. I have learned a valuable as well as costly lesson by not getting a second or third opinion for my first surgery. For anyone thinking of having liposuction, or any elective procedure, please make sure you have the right surgeon. If you don’t feel comfortable or confident with your surgeon, talk to another, until you feel comfortable. I give my everlasting and heartfelt thanks to Dr. Bermant and his wonderful staff for making me feel and look normal again! I would recommend them to anyone who asked! Dr. Bermant responds: Thank you for sharing your liposuction revision experiences with us. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Investigating Liposuction I love your web site. I have gotten more information here than anywhere else I have researched. Very useful.. very informative. I am seriously considering liposuction for the back of my legs and my stomach. I am a 40 year old female and have never had a weight problem until after the birth of my son. I put on 37 lbs. when I was pregnant with him and after his birth, I lost all of it. A neck injury caused me to discontinue playing volleyball which was my sport for the last 20 years. Subsequently, I have gained 20 pounds in all the wrong places and am unable to get rid of it (I now weigh 145 lbs). I walk 2 miles every other day, use the ab-roller every day, do stretches, stairs, etc. I have been trying to lose the excess fat in my legs and stomach for about 6 months now, with little success. I feel that liposuction may be the answer. Do you perform this procedure at your facility? Could you possibly give me a ballpark estimate for the procedure? Do you offer payment terms? Thank you so much for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you. Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Thank you for your comments about my new site. More will be added as soon as I convert other patient educational material that I have developed over the years. Yes we offer liposuction. You have been approaching your problem in a wise fashion. Natural weight control is best for your health and some general weight control. Liposuction is a very valuable tool but not suited for all problems. You need a thorough evaluation before even considering such surgery. Liposuction is a reasonable option for localized fat accumulations without excessive redundant skin. Some patients have lax stomach wall muscles that contribute to the problem. Others have too much redundant skin for liposuction and need some form of abdominoplasty (tummy-tuck). Contour problems of the thighs and upper legs is also something that does very well with liposuction. Lower leg liposuction has some value but the complication rate is higher. This is not trivial surgery and you should continue your education process before committing yourself. We spend a good deal of time with patient education. Reasonable expectations are essential for a happy outcome. Most liposuction is best done under tumescent local or general anesthesia. Our area hospitals have such low prices for the facility fees that there is little to gain by offering that in my own operating room at this time. The surgeon fees for liposuction vary depending on the extent of the surgery. If we can be of further assistance, let us know. Our phone number is (804) 748-7737. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: liposuction Do you know of any plastic Surgeons, that do lipo-suction? That would take payments before doing procedure. It a stange idea.....i know but....insurance will not pay and by back is killing me. Thanks!!! Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified
Plastic Surgeon. I do not understand your question. Liposuction is a good operation for the removal of localized fat collections. It is rarely beneficial in cases where there is so much fat to create back problems. Massive fat collections are usually associated with massive folds of flesh (including skin). Extra skin is not treated by liposuction. Weight control through diet is better for you health if the problem is one of generalized obesity. Dermatolipectomy such as an abdominoplasty is another treatment for localized collection of flesh that addresses skin and fat. The scars and treatment are much different than liposuction. I also do not understand you question about payments, but cosmetic surgery is usually not covered by insurance companies. If we can be of further service, please let us know. We can be reached 804 748-7737. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: Plastic surgery Dear Doctor, I am a 21 year old female interested in having plastic surgery. I have giving this a lot of thought and am sure this is what I want. I am interested in reconstruction surgery on my ankles. I am big boned so it makes my ankles appear large. This makes me very self continuous about myself. I feel now is the time to do something about this. How much rough estimate it's going to cost, can i finance? How much will I be paying monthly? How much time will I need to take off work? Will i have to stay in a hospital? I live in Alexandria do you come to perform surgeries at other hospitals? Fairfax hospital? Alexandria hospital? I know this is a mouth full but I am VERY interested in having this procedure done and looking for the right doctor. Your web site made me feel very comfortable in writing you and asking you these questions. I hope you can answer all of them. Thanks so much for your time and patience. Sincerely, Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Ankles large from underlying large bones cannot be made small. If the bones are the culprit, there is not much choice. Sometimes the ankles are large from local fat which can be removed with liposuction. Complications near the ankle are higher than other parts of the body. I operate in many of the Richmond hospitals and my own office, sorry I do not travel to other cities to operate as I prefer to remain available for postoperative follow-up. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: LYPOSUCTION I am desperate to have some weight taken off an need to know if you know of any doctors in Victoria, B.C. that take payment plans for Lyposuction. I have tried all other diets out there. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, R P Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Liposuction is not a very good operation for weight loss. It helps in LOCALIZED fat collections. Bad eating habits and low activity levels will regain weight removed by liposuction. I am sorry but doctors do not tell me their payment plans etc. Good luck, Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: loose skin and lipo Do you do lipo and leg or thigh lifts together? DO you ever review pictures from patients far away to see if they are right for a procedure? Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Yes liposuction and thigh lifts are done at the same time. The liposuction is good for contouring the fat. The redundant skin is managed by the lift. I do not do both when the contouring will satisfactorily be managed by the thigh lift alone. The flesh has more to it than what is shown in pictures. Feeling the nature of the tissue, seeing how it moves, determining what components are muscle vs. fat can not be done adequately except in person. Our typical consultation time may run from 1 to 1 1/2 hours to better understand if a patient is a suitable candidate and to help with your education. We cannot review pictures and make suggestions that would have little value and would be little more than a marketing hype. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: Limits of liposuction Dear Dr. Bermant, I am a 36 year old 230 lb man who is 5'8". I have tried my best to lose weight but I have two degenerating disks (L-4,5 and L-5,S-1) which puts me in a constant state of pain. I am highly motivated and feel that if I was able to lose weight I would be better able to continue my exercise regimine and firm up the musculature for a better prognosis on my spinal condition. My question is: (physiologically speaking) Why CAN'T a substantial quantity of fat be removed via liposuction? Is it a question of fluid loss? excessive bleeding? or is there another reason this is impractical? I appreciate your consideration of my question. RS. Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Liposuction is used for localized collections of fat. When large amounts of tissue need reduction, there is usually extra skin that becomes more redundant when not addressed with the fat removal. Body contouring operations (such as abdominoplasty) remove larger sections of skin and fat. For some patients large liposuction reductions are appropriate. In these cases liposuction can involve large fluid shifts and is serious surgery. Cavalier massive liposuction has resulted in death. In appropriate hands this is usually done with reasonable risk. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: liposuction and weight gain After liposuction, if one gains weight, will the weight go to the area that was lipsuctioned, or will it go somewhere else? In other words, if one's stomach was liposuctioned, and that person started overeating, would that person get fat in the stomach again, or would the fat go elsewhere in the body? Can someone have liposuction more than once in the same body area? Is this dangerous? Thank you for your time and answers. Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Liposuction removes localized fat. Weight is put on the body in certain distributions depending on many factors (sex, body style...). The remaining fat cells after liposuction can still store fat and thus new weight can return to that region. Although liposuction can be done to the same area again, you are better off keeping the weight off by better eating habits. Repeat liposuction can lead to some complications depending on what was done to that region. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: lipo suction before getting pregnant I am 26 years old and have ben exploring having lipo suction. I also have been married to a wonderful amn for about 8 years now. We have recently been talking about starting a family in the next two years or so. If a woman of my age could have lipo suction in the next couple of month and then get pregnant in two years from now, what concerns should I consider and what are some pros and cons? KM Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Liposuction, or the suction of localized fat collections usually should not interfere with a pregnancy several years afterwards. This operation is one of the commonly done plastic surgery procedures. But every operation does carry some risks. A bad infection, reaction to medication, injury to intestine sticking out from a hernia (hole in the abdominal wall) are all very uncommon complications that might cause problems with that pregnancy. Liposuction is sometimes not the answer to some patients contour problems. Excess skin is managed only to a very limited degree in liposuction. Some patients have weakness in the abdominal wall muscles, also not addressed by liposuction. It depends on the abdominal wall problem whether such surgery is of value for a short period before pregnancy. Pregnancy however can cause a reshaping of the body. Weakness in the over stretched abdominal wall muscles, loose skin, and weight gain with pregnancy can alter a woman's shape after pregnancy. For most the changes resolve quickly, but some will benefit from plastic surgery. Limited funds sometimes influences some to wait to after child bearing. Others decide they do not want to spend this time looking the way they do. Surgery may then be the answer. Each person is different. You would need an evaluation and examination before a recommendation could be made in your case. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: tummy tuck and lipo Hello, My name is M and I am a student at El Paso Community College. I am working on a research paper. My objective is to find out the truth of the outcomes of this kind of surgery. I am very interested in this area because I am thinking about having the surgery done. I have gone to plastic surgeons and they have told me that I am an ideal pacient (whatever that means). Well, I really want to know more before I end up doing it and maybe later regreting it. If you can help please e-mail me. Thank you so much for your time. M:-) Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. I am not certain what you are looking for. A consultation is an excellent way for patient education. Yes, you should learn about any surgery before you have a procedure. As a surgeon I build my patient's confidence in me with such learning experiences. If you are looking for a treatise on liposuction and tummy tuck surgery, that is a little much to ask for. What truths are you asking about? I built my web site as an experiment in patient education on the web, extending my commitment to the education experience. Your choice of surgeon should include someone you can develop trust in as well as a good technician. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: use of ultrasound and saline for liposuction Dear Doctor, I saw a report on TV about the use of normal saline and ultrasound to improve the results and reduce the side effects of liposuction. What is this called? I would like to know so that when I call my local plastic surgeons I can ask them if they do it that way. Do you use this method? Would you recommend it? M, Milwaukee Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Saline is used in tumescent technique liposuction. Fluid is infiltrated in the region for liposuction. Saline is one of the components of this liquid. Blood loss is less with tumescent liposuction. Ultrasound can make liposuction easier for the surgeon by softening up the tissue to be treated. The most common method has the ultrasonic devices in the wands for the suction. The second method has the ultrasonic device separate and applied externally. Results are still early for the best uses and indications for this method. The equipment is very expensive and some of the hype comes from manufactures that want to sell the product. I am not convinced yet either way, better or worse. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: Liposuction Dear Dr Bermant I am a massage therapist and I have a new client tonight who underwent liposuction surgery 2 weeks ago. She feels good enough to get a massage but I'm trying to make some calls and find out whether it's potentially harmful for her to receive massage at this point. She had it extensively on her body: abdominal region, thighs, arms. I hear that thaere should be a resting time where the skin has time to re-attach/adhere to fat and fascia again. It would be wonderful if you could return this e-mail today. I'd be grateful. Best wishes T Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. You will have to speak to her operating surgeon. Each surgeon has their own ideas what can be done and when. I judge the time to various activities on the treatment of the specific patient in my practice and do not mind discussing such information at the patient's request. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: Liposuction Dr. Bermant, I saw your site on the internet and found it very informative. Most other internet sites offer only simple information that, if you are already researching information, is often a rehash of commonly available information. Here's what I am trying to find out: My wife is fairly well proportioned and is considering liposuction to contour areas of her thighs, hips, stomach and the backs of her arms. Her one concern is that she has heard that some women who have such surgury experience an increase in breast size. As she is already well proportioned, a reduction in thighs, hips, stomach and arms and a post-operation increase in breast size may result in an unintended appearance. Have you, in your experience, noticed any such post-liposuction operation increase in breast size? Thanks for your assistance. R Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Thank you for the kind comments. The web site is designed to give patients a window into our practice and our commitment to patient education. It is growing as I can find time to build it. No I have never seen an increase in breast size associated with liposuction contouring of other areas. Liposuction is usually best for localized fat collections, and not for general weight loss. The best learning experience however of what may or may not be possible is during a consultation with your plastic surgeon. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: liposuction I am thinking about having liposuction done to my upper thighs and stomach area. I am a little overweight, but I have fat that I can not get rid of no matter what I do. I was wondering if you could give a general estimated on the total cost. I understand that I would have to been seen before an exact amount, but I would like to have a general idea. Also , would I need to have the payment in full before or the day of surgery or Would I be able to make payments for my procedure. This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Liposuction is not very good at general weight reduction, it is good for localized fat collections. If the area has both extra fat and skin, sometimes other surgery is necessary (for instance a tummy tuck for redundant tissue about the belly). Liposuction costs vary depending on the amount of surgery that needs to be performed. Additional charges can include operating rooms and anesthesia costs which can vary depending on the time and where the surgery takes place. Different hospitals charge different prices. Jane is my office manager and can better discuss our fees and charges. She can normally be reached at our office by phone Monday - Friday 9-5 Eastern Time at (804) 748-7737. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD Subj: Re: Liposuction How much is breast lift and liposuction? Thanks. Dr. Bermant responds: This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. These operations have variable price ranges, it is like E-mailing a restaurant and asking "what is the price of dinner tonight". Are you going to have local or general anesthesia? How extensive an area are you considering liposuction? What type of ptosis surgery do you need? You could start your education process of what options are available with a consultation by a board certified Plastic Surgeon. Or you can start the process by finding a K-mart discount specialist who is eager to quote discount prices before examination. I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804) 748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town guests during their consultations and procedures. Michael Bermant, MD
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