The Perfect Shape

Dr Priya Bansal highlights the surgical options for body contouring in men, and how it is different from that of women.

With ever-changing needs for better body aesthetics, boosted self-confidence and the advent of digital media, body contouring has become a popular procedure for both men and women. Every year, thousands of body contouring procedures are performed by boardcertified plastic surgeons, helping individuals achieve their body goals and attain success in their professional and personal lives.

What is body contouring?

Body contouring, or body sculpting, is a surgical procedure that aims to reshape certain areas of the body to give them a more aesthetic and defined appearance. It involves procedures to remove extra skin, eliminate excess fat, and reshape or contour the desired areas.

It is to be noted that body contouring does not help lose weight. Instead, it helps shape the body and address specific areas where subcutaneous fat is accumulated.

Why are men opting for body contouring procedures?

Increasing number of men desire to achieve toned and fit faces and bodies to flaunt those six-pack abs. It takes years of discipline, rigorous workouts and an immense amount of nutritious intake to achieve that goal. Yet, sometimes all the efforts go in vain, without producing any effective results, simply because the subcutaneous layers of fat accumulated in the areas are hard to lose with workouts.

While the procedure is usually the same for both men and women, the reasons why each patient pursues the treatment may vary.

Differences in body contouring needs for men and women

For starters, the sites where men and women carry their fat vary tremendously. Women have more fat on their bodies, which is mostly stored around the hips and thighs, or the glutealfemoral area. This area of the body is difficult to target through diet and exercise. Men, on the other hand, carry fat around their midsection – think of the stereotypical “beer gut”.

This variation in fat storage alters the goals for each patient. Because fat around the stomach is often easier to lose than fat in the gluteal-femoral area, body contouring is used to add definition as well as remove fat. As a result, most men request the procedure to improve muscle definition and create a more masculine appearance.

On the other hand, for women, liposuction combined with body contouring is the best way to remove excess fat cells from problem areas and achieve a more aesthetic and slender definition of the body part. Thus, liposuction-aided body contouring is an excellent way for women to regain a more feminine figure.

Here is a quick rundown on the body-specific contouring choices among men and women.

Upper body surgeries

Men: Face contouring, including jaw shaping, chin and neck contouring, chest contouring (gynecomastia combined with hidef contouring to define pectoral muscles) and arm lift to shape the arms and give better definition to biceps and triceps.

Women: Face fat grafting, upper back contouring, arm lift for slender and sleek arms.

Middle body surgeries

Men:Six-pack abs surgery with ab designing, 360 oliposuction

Women: Tummy tuck, 360o liposuction.

Lower body surgeries

Men: Thigh contouring to define the musculature, calf definition using implants

Women: Lateral butt raise, Brazilian butt lift, thigh contouring, calf liposuction

Having listed these procedures, we also need to understand the preferences among men and women based on anatomy when it comes to choosing body aesthetics.

Face sculpting

Men prefer to have a square jawline and a broad midface. Also, the mid-cheek area should not be overfilled, as high cheekbones are not a preference for males. Women prefer to have a Vjawline, high cheekbones and narrow face. The performing surgeon has to be careful with these preferences.

Chest contouring

Men always need the definition of the pectorals. It is sometimes necessary to inject fat in the pectorals to provide a good masculine muscular chest while simultaneously suctioning the fat and gland from the lower part, particularly while performing gynecomastia surgery.

Abdomen contouring

Men mostly prefer six-pack abs. Hence, the ab etching proves to be useful in providing the desired results. Superficial liposuction in the areas of muscle insertions along with some fat grafting to make the muscles appear bulkier helps in achieving the six-pack look. Women mostly prefer only lateral and midline etching for that slender and sleeker look. Only a few women with athletic build ask for six-pack abs.

Back contouring

Back contouring in men is centered around giving a Vshape to the torso. The transition between the lower back and buttocks is smooth and subtle and almost a straight line, whereas, women prefer to have ‘S’ curve in their back with a narrow waist culminating in wider and rounder buttocks both laterally and anteroposteriorly.

Women prefer an hourglass shape, whereas men ask for a V-waist line.

Arms contouring

When it comes to arm sculpting, men need a sharp and clear muscle definition for the biceps and triceps. Even the deltoids are given specific attention to provide a highly defined arm contour. For women, in the arm sculpting section, it is mostly a slight curve between the deltoids and the biceps to create the slender arm look.

Calf contouring

While sculpting the calves, men ask for bulkier, more muscular calves. Most surgeons choose fat grafting or implants to give that desired look. Women ask for a sleeker calf appearance, and liposuction is the perfect tool to achieve that.

Body contouring treatment for men and women differs not only in terms of aesthetic goals but also fat cell composition, which again requires different approaches. For example, fat cells in men are thicker, more fibrous, and stick together to form a layer directly above the muscle. The manner in which fat cells develop, accumulate, and expand so close to muscle tissue makes removal difficult – even with highly targeted liposuction. Here comes the role of using advanced technologies like power assisted, ultrasonic assisted devices.

Instead, women are genetically programmed to carry more fat in a healthy way (nature’s answer to nourishing babies in the womb). This causes fat cells to form beneath the skin, making them easier to remove with liposuction.

This fat composition and placement determines how I target fat cells and pockets during the procedure, ensuring the best results.

Men and women can both use the fat removed during liposuction procedures to add volume to areas of the body that are deficient in volume. Women frequently ask for fat transfer to their breasts, buttocks, or face, whereas men prefer to add definition to areas such as the chest, abs and calves.

Men’s body goals usually differ from those of women, as men are more concerned with muscle definition and women are with slenderness. As a result, the approach to removing fat from a certain area and providing a better definition always varies.

In the end, I would conclude by saying that only a surgeon with an experienced hand and a complete understanding of the differences in men’s and women’s anatomy can accomplish such results. It is highly recommended to choose a surgeon with expertise in performing aesthetic surgeries for men and women alike.

About the author: Dr Priya Bansal is a board-certified cosmetic plastic surgeon practicing in Delhi, NCR. She presently holds the position of Executive Committee Member in the Indian Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (IAAPS). She has been awarded gold medal for her surgical skills. She has received international fellowships in liposcultping and rhinoplasty. She strives to give shape to her patient’s radical inner self and bring to reality their body goals.