David P. Rapaport, MD, FACS is one of only a handful of plastic surgeons with such an ideal plastic surgery training background combined with over 14 years of practice experience. If you have unwanted fat anywhere on your body, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, David Rapaport, offers you Liposculpture / Liposuction that achieves unprecedented results with his World Renowned Liposculpture / Liposuction technique.


The Plastic Surgeon's specialty is to keep the skin much smoother by avoiding the dents and dimples that have plagued the earlier Liposuction techniques.

Liposuction is a procedure performed by the Plastic Surgeon that removes localized areas of excess fatty tissue. Liposuction can be performed on many area of the body to include: face, neck, chest, abdomen, back, arms, hips, and legs. Liposuction is not a weight loss procedure but rather a body contouring procedure. It is designed to address those areas of fatty tissue that are resistant to diet and exercise. The ideal candidate is at or near their ideal body weight and in good physical condition.

The Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, David Rapaport, MD performs all liposuction using the tumescent technique. The tumescent technique has become, according to most experts, the new gold standard in liposuction. This liposuction technique involves the injection of a dilute solution of lidocaine (a local anesthetic) and epinephrine (a drug which controls bleeding) prior to performing the actual suctioning of the fatty tissue. The suctioning is performed using a 3 to 4 millimeter cannula (metallic rod) inserted via a tiny puncture in the skin. This technique effectively reduces blood loss, allows for increased fat removal and improved sculpting, and speeds recovery. Most of the plastic surgeon's patients return to work within 3 days following their procedure.

It is important to understand that achieving a successful result from liposuction requires to main ingredients. First, you will need an experienced plastic surgeon with the appropriate technology. Dr. Rapaport has been performing liposuction for the past 18 years, first as director of cosmetic surgery training at the University of Florida, and for the past 11 years in private practice in New York City. Dr. Rapaport’s goal in performing body sculpting through liposuction is to achieve the most desirable contour of his patient’s body. The goals are clarified with the patient in advance to be sure that ethnic and personal sensitivities of the patient are taken into account. One patient may want her outer thigh bulges to be reduced completely and made as straight as possible, while another patient may want to retain some fullness in the buttock or outer thigh area. Dr. Rapaport always clarifies the patient’s goals before surgery during his consultation to ensure he is using his artistic goals to achieve the patient’s goals.

In terms of the technology Dr. Rapaport is experienced and skilled in every existing technology meant to assist in achieving a better result with liposuction. The key technique used with every patient and has received less emphasis because it is not new is the tumescent technique. This means that using a very thin cannula (metal rod) and a specially mixed fluid solution dispersed into the fatty tissues beneath the skin. This fluid accomplishes three goals. Firstly, it contains a small amount of epinephrine which causes blood vessels to constrict and thereby blood loss is kept to an absolute minimum. Secondly, the fluid containing a small amount of numbing medicine (lidocane) which has a numbing effect on the area allowing the procedure to be much better tolerating to the patient without requiring anesthesia ( see below for a more detailed discussion for more information on anesthesia options with Dr. Rapaport).  Finally, the injection of the volume of fluid essentially magnifying the area to be treated to allow more precise contouring to be achieved.

There are several technologies which may be used (in addition to the tumescent technique) to help achieve an optimal result with liposuction. From Dr. Rapports’ perspective these technologies must be used selectively and individually depending on the individual patient and the area to be treated.

Laser Liposuction: The newest technology involves using a laser to help dissolve fat cells with perhaps the most popular being SMARTLIPO™. The laser tip produces a large amount of heat which literally dissolves fat cells and may provide some tightening of the skin. The Plastic Surgeon is experienced with this technique and feels it has some value particularly in fibrous areas where the fat may be more difficult to remove by more traditional methods. Laser assisted liposuction also has the benefit of having a smaller scar, about 1-2 mm, which can obviously be beneficial to those who are prone to poor scarring. It is important however to understand that traditional tumescent liposuction involves a scar which is about Ultrasound Liposuction: Another specialized technique with which Dr. Rapaport has over 10 years experience using ultrasound liposuction, similar to laser assisted liposuction, SMARTLIPO™, ultra sound liposuction, offers a different kind of technology, to help dissolve fat cells VASER LIPO™ much like laser techniques ultrasound is important in areas where the fatty tissue is embedded fibrous setting such as the male breast, (gynecomastia) the upper abdomen, and other dense areas.

The doctor has also been using power assisted liposuction in selected cases. Unlike the powerful technologies like ultrasound and laser assisted technologies which truly help dissolve fat cells, power assisted liposuction, actually makes the surgeons work less demanding during the liposuction procedure, it does not significantly add to the ability to remove fat from dense areas. Furthermore, Dr. Rapaport finds that the strong vibration produced by the power assisted hand piece is disturbing to his fine touch. Because of this fact and because Dr. Rapaport enjoys the physical nature of liposuction, he generally reserves power assisted liposuction for when the procedure may involve an unusually large amount of fat.

As is frequently the case in life, each technique involves benefits and tradeoffs. For example, while SMARTLIPO™ may allow for a one or two mm scar rather than a 4 mm scar, it is truly not possible to be equally aggressive via such a small scar. Therefore, in a patient who scars well and desires a very aggressive but natural sculpting result, traditional liposuction, with or without either ultrasound or laser may be a better choice.
As the above indicates Dr. Rapaport is very experienced with all of the technologies involved with liposuction and believes in making decisions regarding technique based on each individual patients physical conditions, concerns and needs.

If you have questions or would like to schedule a complimentary consultation with the Plastic Surgeon, please phone the Doctor's office at 212-752-1129 or email  info@drrapaport.com.