While the overflowing muffin top may be the best tasting part of this baked good, partaking of too many and too often of these tasty delights will eventually give you a permanent one of your own. Many people, men and women alike, struggle with the muffin top fat deformity. With a well recognized name, it is those unsightly rolls of fat that pops out and over one’s waistline. While more commonly used to describe the problem in women, it is also known as the love handles in men. (although I know very few men who actually love them)
Why fat desposits in this specific area is not known. Perhaps historically, before pants and other clothes that wrapped around the waistline were commonly worn, this was not a recognizeable problem. Certainly genetics plays a major role in where and how the body distributes its fat. While diet and exercise helps control how much fat is deposited, such efforts don’t always keep it off the waistline. I have seen many very fit patients, who were workout warriors, that still developed a bit of a mild muffin top. This is especially true as one ages where these stubborn pockets of fat develop even if one is fairly weight appropriate for their height. The fashion world has contributed to this problem in women where waistbands are becoming lower and tighter, exposing and emphasizing these fat bulges.
The muffin top has always been an ideal area to treat with liposuction. It is considered ideal because of two important treatment considerations. First it can be maximally aspirated with liposuction even though it is a curved surface that is being treated. Aggressive liposuction can be safely done because if it becomes over-resected, no aesthetic harm is done. There is probably no such thing as a waistline that tapers in too much. Fat in the muffin top or love handle comes out very easily with liposuction. Secondly, it is not a big area to treat so fat removal is fairly quick and recovery is fairly easy. One may only need a few days off work and the wearing of a compression garment for a week or two.
As liposuction as evolved, many patients wonder what is the best method and does one work better for the muffin top problem. The technology has evolved in liposuction with different ways to help break and loosen the fat for it then to be suctioned out. My current preference is the use of the laser probe. Known by the brand name of Smartlipo, laser liposuction helps heat and melt the fat. This not only does a better job of destroying the fat in the field of treatment, but contributes to less pain and bruising afterwards.
While muffin tops can appear in isolation, most of time they are part of a more global waistline problem. Muffin top reduction is often part of abdominal and hip liposuction as well as tummy tuck or abdominoplasty surgery. For most patients, the muffin top is just part of a near 360 degree waistline fullness. But whether they appear alone as side bulges or just part of the ‘spare tire’, today’s liposuction techniques can successfully rid one of these less than flattering protrusions.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis Indiana