They are the last people you'd think need liposuction -- personal trainers, runners, gym rats and everyday athletes who spend hours each week trying to sculpt a perfect physique -- yet no matter their routine, that chiseled hard-bodied look has somehow eluded them.
Tito Hernandez is a personal trainer who works out five days a week but was frustrated that no number of crunches could give him the stomach he wanted. "I had just put on a little weight around my belly," said Hernandez, 35. "I wanted the six-pack abs I had when I was younger."
So Hernandez spent a recent afternoon in a Los Angeles plastic surgeon's office, undergoing liposuction. But not just any liposuction. Hernandez experienced a new technique called VASER High-Definition Liposculpture that not only removes fat but, as the name suggests, creates a highly defined and sculpted look.
Nor is Hernandez alone. Plastic surgeons' offices are fielding inquiries from a growing number of clients, especially men, eager to exchange soft stomachs for six-packs, love handles and saddlebags for a more sleek profile (one local doctor has performed the procedure on 14 patients in the last two months), making VASER High-Def the latest trend in the search for a perfect body -- with the least amount of effort.
"I have marathon runners and triathletes coming in who still have love handles, and those aren't going away no matter how much they exercise," said Dr. John Millard, a cosmetic surgeon in private practice who helped develop the Vaser technique.
VASER High-Def (which stands for Vibration Amplification of Sound Energy at Resonance) is not for everyone. The procedure is best suited for those who are close to their ideal body weight, who work out at least three times a week and are already in good shape. VASER uses ultrasound technology to emulsify fat, which is then sucked out through incisions with a long needle called a cannula, exactly as is done during liposuction. Except the cannula, when used for high-def sculpting, is smaller and slimmer, and the suction technique has been modified so that fat can be removed from areas directly beneath the skin, specifically, tracing the natural musculature.
"Instead of simply thinning out the fat on certain parts of the body, the surgeon is attempting to . . . sculpt the fat to match the contours of the underlying muscle," said Dr. Dan Yamini of Sunset Cosmetic Surgery in Beverly Hills. "It allows for a much more lean and chiseled look that until now could only be achieved through a very aggressive diet and exercise plan."
