Body Sculpting: Surgery vs Non-Surgical Options

If there's an area that won't shift no matter how well you eat or how much you exercise, you may have looked into body sculpting. Surgery like liposuction has been around for decades, but it's no longer the only option. Here's how surgical and non-surgical approaches compare.

What is surgical body sculpting?

Surgical body sculpting usually means procedures that remove or reshape fat, skin and tissue. Liposuction is the best known, and it may be combined with procedures such as a tummy tuck or body lift.

Possible advantages

• Can remove larger amounts of fat in one procedure
• Results can be more dramatic
• Loose skin can be addressed at the same time with lifting procedures

Things to weigh up

• Anaesthetic and incisions
• Recovery time, often a week or more
• Surgical risks such as infection and scarring
• Usually a significantly higher cost

A surgeon is the right person to talk to about whether surgery suits you.

Non-surgical body contouring

Non-surgical treatments use energy, such as heat, cold or ultrasound, to target fat in a specific area without incisions. They're designed for contouring rather than weight loss, and changes build gradually.

At Asylum, our Fat Reduction treatment uses controlled radiofrequency energy. Heat is applied gradually to the targeted fat layer and monitored throughout, and over the following weeks the body naturally processes the affected fat cells. Sessions take around 30 minutes.

Possible advantages

• No anaesthetic or incisions
• Most people go straight back to their day
• Gradual, natural-looking change
• Usually a lower cost than surgery

Side by side

• Approach. Surgery removes tissue directly. Non-surgical treatment uses energy through the skin.
• Recovery. Surgery needs recovery time. Non-surgical treatment usually needs little or none.
• Results. Surgery can be more dramatic and immediate. Non-surgical results are more gradual and subtle.
• Best for. Surgery may suit larger changes. Non-surgical treatment suits stubborn areas in people near their goal weight.

Which might suit you?

• Surgery may be worth discussing with a surgeon if you want a larger change and are prepared for recovery time and surgical risks.
• Non-surgical contouring may suit you if you're close to your goal weight, want to target a stubborn area and would rather avoid downtime.

For many busy people, non-surgical contouring is the more practical place to start.

Book a free consultation

At your consultation we'll talk through your goals and be honest about whether our treatment is the right fit, including if it isn't.

Fat reduction is body contouring, not weight loss. Individual results vary and are discussed at consultation.