Liposuction – Face & Body

Liposuction for Face and Body in Busan, Korea

Medically reviewed by Dr. Kim Ki-tae, MD — Board-Certified Specialist in Plastic Surgery, Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons; Director and founder, TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic, Haeundae-gu, Busan

Liposuction in Busan is a fat-removal treatment that eliminates unnecessary subcutaneous fat cells from targeted areas of the face and body where diet and exercise fail. At TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic in Haeundae-gu it is not run as one standardized operation. The clinic selects the technique and the equipment according to the characteristics of each body area, which is why this page spends more time on the choice of method than on the idea of liposuction itself.

What Is Liposuction – Face & Body?

Liposuction is a surgical procedure that removes subcutaneous fat cells from a defined treatment area through small access points, reshaping the contour of that area rather than reducing overall body weight.

• It targets localized fat deposits that have resisted consistent diet and exercise.

• It is performed across facial and body zones, with the method chosen per zone.

• Extracted fat cells are permanently removed from the treated area.

• It is not a primary treatment for general obesity, and it is not a weight-loss operation.

• Skin elasticity in the treated area affects how the contour settles afterward.

Why US patients ask for it is documented narrowly: to streamline body proportions, to reduce localized fat pockets, to sharpen facial contours, and to remove stubborn fat from areas that resist regular exercise. Independent patient information from the NHS makes the same limiting point about what liposuction is for (NHS).

The clinic's assessment step is where its approach differs from a standardized one. It analyzes regional skin thickness, fat firmness, size, fibrous content, and circulatory factors in order to select the surgical technique and the equipment. Those five variables are not interchangeable across the body — the fat on a back behaves differently from the fat under a chin — and the clinic's position is that the method should follow the tissue.

The clinic's stated approach is to assess skin condition and the underlying tissue structure together, because the two determine what any single treatment can realistically achieve.

What the clinic states the operation provides is equally narrow: refined body contours, improved definition of the body's lines, and targeted sculpting across facial and body areas. Nothing in that list is a claim about weight. The documented limits are that liposuction can reshape selected areas but is not a general weight-loss treatment, and that residual fat, contour irregularity and skin laxity can all affect how the final shape reads.

Who Performs Liposuction – Face & Body at TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic

**Dr. Kim Ki-tae
**Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction – Face & Body is performed by Dr. Kim Ki-tae, the clinic's founder and sole doctor and the listed performing doctor for the parent Fat & Body Contouring specialty.

Liposuction and body contouring is named among his documented core specializations. Because he is also the doctor who assesses the case, the decision about which of the three liposuction methods to use is made by the person who will use it.

Dr. Kim Ki-tae holds the Board-Certified Specialist designation in Plastic Surgery issued by the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. He graduated from Inje University College of Medicine and trained as a Clinical Fellow in the Department of Plastic Surgery at Pusan National University from March 2003 to February 2004. He founded TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic in 2005 and has practised there ever since.

He chairs the Academic Committee of the Laser Plastic Surgery Research Group at the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, sits on that society's Academic Committee, serves on the Legislation Committee of the Korean Association of Plastic Surgeons, and is General Affairs Director of the Busan Medical Association. He is a full member of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, an international member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and a full member of the International Confederation for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery.

TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic is a single-doctor clinic, so the surgeon who assesses you is the surgeon who treats you. You can read his background on the doctor page. This operation is listed under Fat & Body Contouring.

Liposuction Options and Types Available

The clinic documents three liposuction technologies and selects between them according to the patient's body characteristics and fat condition.

Method	How the clinic describes it	Where it documents using it
Negative Pressure Liposuction (SAL)	Vacuum pressure and a cannula to precisely remove fat	Delicate areas such as the face and upper arms
Ultrasonic Assisted Lipoplasty (UAL)	Ultrasound energy dissolves fat before suction	Larger volumes, and dense or firm fat such as the back and thighs
Power Assisted Lipoplasty (PAL)	Motor-powered micro-vibrations combined with negative pressure suction	Larger volumes in areas such as the abdomen and thighs

The documented treatment areas span both halves of the service name: face, abdomen, love handles, front and back thighs, buttocks including under-buttock fat, knees and calves, back at the bra line, and arms including the accessory breast area.

The reason the clinic gives for maintaining three methods rather than one is that the areas on that list do not behave alike. A face and a back differ in skin thickness. Firm, fibrous fat resists a cannula that works easily elsewhere. Circulation differs between regions and affects bruising. The clinic's position is that matching the method to those regional characteristics is what makes fat removal more effective, and it presents this as the specific difference between its approach and conventional standardized liposuction.

Non-surgical alternatives sit on the other side of the same decision. Fat-freezing and ultrasound treatments require multiple sessions for a mild reduction, whereas liposuction is documented as achieving immediate, higher-volume fat removal in one session. Which side of that trade-off suits you depends on how much fat is involved and how much downtime you can take.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Liposuction – Face & Body?

You may be a candidate if

• You have localized fat deposits on the face or body.

• You have good skin elasticity in the treatment area.

• Your weight is stable.

• Your fat has remained despite consistent exercise and dieting.

• You want improvement in a specific contour rather than overall weight reduction.

• You hold reasonable cosmetic expectations about what the operation changes.

You may need to avoid or postpone treatment if

• You are looking for a primary treatment for general obesity.

• You expect drastic weight loss from the procedure.

• You have a severe systemic medical issue.

• You have an active infection or an uncontrolled medical condition.

• You have a significant bleeding risk.

• You are pregnant, or you have a condition that makes elective surgery unsafe.

Final candidacy requires an individual medical assessment.

What to Expect: Procedure, Recovery, and Results Timeline

Before anything is planned, the clinic analyzes the treatment region: skin thickness, fat firmness, the size of the deposit, its fibrous content, and circulatory factors. The technique and the equipment are then chosen from that analysis. Assessment from overseas normally starts with standardized photographs of the zones you want treated, plus your medical and treatment history; online consultation is available for that stage. Which angles and file formats the clinic needs are confirmed once the assessment is under way.

On the day, the sequence is short. Tumescent fluid is infused into the target fat layer. Specialized energy probes or cannulas then break down or melt the fat cells. Suction removes the emulsified fat.

Local anesthesia with intravenous sedation or general anesthesia is administered depending on the number and size of the treatment zones. The exact approach is confirmed with the patient at consultation.

Preparation is standard for a surgical case. Blood thinners and certain medications are stopped. Blood evaluations are completed. Patients stay hydrated. Fasting is required if sedation or general anesthesia is planned. Blood-thinning supplements such as fish oil or vitamin E, along with alcohol and smoking, are generally avoided in the two weeks beforehand.

Stage	What the clinic documents
Surgery	One to three hours, depending on the targeted zones
Visits	One main surgical visit plus follow-up checkups
First one to two weeks	Acute swelling drops
One week to ten days	Light daily activity resumes for most patients
Two to three weeks	Most swelling resolves and the change becomes visible
Three to six months	Full contour refinement and skin settling occur
Stay in Korea	Roughly one to two weeks is generally advised for international patients

Aftercare centres on the compression garment. Wear the post-operative garment as directed. Keep the incision sites clean. Avoid strenuous exercise, heavy lifting, alcohol and smoking for two to four weeks. Avoid direct pressure on the treated area. Attend the follow-up checks, which are used to assess swelling, the incision sites, healing, contour, and any complications.

Departure is timed off the post-operative check rather than off a fixed date, and the clinic documents that point at roughly a week to ten days. International patients should confirm the required follow-up schedule before booking a return flight. Obtain postoperative contact instructions before leaving Korea.

The extracted fat cells are permanently removed, which yields long-lasting contour improvement provided weight stays relatively stable. That last clause is the condition, not a footnote.

Two parts of the timeline commonly surprise patients who have planned around the first fortnight. Acute swelling falling within one to two weeks is not the same as the contour being finished. The clinic documents skin settling and full contour refinement continuing over three to six months, which means the shape you see at the follow-up before your flight is an early reading rather than the result.

Combining Liposuction with Other Treatments

Whether several areas or an additional procedure can safely be treated in one operation depends on your health, the total surgical time, and the amount of tissue treated. The clinic documents three pairings.

• Renuvion Tightening — taking the fat out does nothing for the skin that covered it, so the clinic documents adding Renuvion in the same session when it expects that skin to stay loose.

• Fat Grafting & Anti-Aging — fat removed here can be purified and transferred to the face or hips instead of being discarded.

• Abdominal muscle tightening — documented as a frequent combination where the abdominal wall is part of the problem.

• Body Lifting — the separate surgical route, considered when excess skin is substantial enough that tightening will not be sufficient.

Safety, Precision, and Clinic Standards

The clinic has operated at the same address in Haeundae, Busan since 2005. TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic is a Registered Medical Institution for Attracting Foreign Patients, certified by the Ministry of Health and Welfare under the Medical Overseas Expansion and Foreign Patients Attraction Act.

The clinic records liposuction as a standard aesthetic surgical procedure for targeted subcutaneous fat removal across multiple zones. Its stated method of reducing risk is to avoid a standardized approach, selecting equipment and technique according to the individual's body and the specific treatment area.

The documented risks should be read before travelling. Potential risks include bleeding, infection, and fluid accumulation. They also include contour irregularities, asymmetry, and changes in sensation. Skin irregularities and scarring are possible. Blood clots, fat embolism, and anesthesia-related complications are recognized risks of this operation. Additional treatment may be required. Larger-volume or multiple-area procedures may carry greater risks. Common temporary effects include swelling, bruising, soreness, tenderness, numbness, tightness and fluid accumulation, and small incision sites may leave temporary or permanent scars.

Severe or worsening pain, rapidly increasing swelling, significant bleeding, fever, wound problems, shortness of breath, chest pain, or one-sided leg swelling requires prompt medical assessment (ASPS).

TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic publishes neither case volumes nor complication rates for this procedure, and this page claims neither. The clinic reports approximately 240 surgical procedures and approximately 3,600 non-surgical treatments a year; these are clinic-wide totals across everything it offers, not figures for this procedure. The clinic has not published a price or a price range for this procedure, so none is stated here, and cost is confirmed at consultation.

The Bottom Line

• Liposuction removes localized subcutaneous fat from a defined area; it is not an obesity treatment.

• The clinic uses SAL, UAL and PAL, and selects between them by treatment area and fat characteristics.

• Documented areas run from the face and arms to the abdomen, thighs, buttocks, knees, calves and back.

• Extracted fat cells do not return, but future weight change can still alter the contour.

• Full contour refinement is documented over three to six months, not in the first weeks.

FAQ

Which liposuction method will be used on me?

That is decided at assessment, from the skin thickness, fat firmness, fat accumulation, circulation and fibrousness of the specific area. SAL is documented for delicate areas such as the face and upper arms. UAL is documented for dense or firm fat and larger volumes. PAL is documented for larger volumes in areas such as the abdomen and thighs.

Will my skin be loose afterward?

It depends on your skin elasticity, which is assessed before surgery. Good skin elasticity is listed among the candidacy criteria for this operation. If your skin is not expected to draw back sufficiently on its own, the clinic's documented answer is to add Renuvion to the same session. Where the excess is substantial, surgical Body Lifting is the route instead.

How long does the operation take?

One to three hours, depending on which zones are targeted. Time also varies with the amount of fat being removed, the technique used, and whether several areas are treated in the same session. It is normally an outpatient procedure with one main surgical visit.

How long before I can fly home?

Typically after a week to ten days. Two things have to be true first: the early swelling and bruising must be receding, and the surgeon must have signed you off at a post-operative visit. International patients are generally advised to plan roughly one to two weeks in Korea. Confirm long-haul flight timing with the treating doctor for your case.

Can several areas be treated at once?

Potentially. The clinic's approach covers multiple regions including the face, abdomen, flanks, thighs, buttocks, knees and calves, back, and arms. Whether they can safely be combined in one operation depends on your health, the total surgical time, and the amount of tissue treated. That judgment is made at consultation.

What are the common side effects?

Swelling, bruising, soreness and tenderness are the usual ones. Temporary numbness or altered sensation, tightness, and fluid accumulation also occur. Small incision sites may leave temporary or permanent scars. Anything that worsens rather than settles should be reported to the clinic promptly.

What cannot be promised?

A specific amount of weight loss, exact body measurements, perfectly smooth contours, complete symmetry, absence of scars, or a complication-free recovery. Residual fat, contour irregularities and skin laxity can all affect the result. Future weight changes can alter it after the fact.

Book a Consultation at TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic

Face and body liposuction is available in Busan at TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic, and the consultation is where the zones, the method and the equipment are matched to your tissue. English-speaking assistance is available for both online and in-person consultations, and consultations are arranged through the clinic's contact page. TAE Plastic Surgery Clinic is at 4th Floor, Gunam Building, 27 Gunam-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, and opens Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 18:00 and Saturday from 09:00 to 13:00, closed Sundays and public holidays.

Disclaimer

This page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute individualized medical advice. Candidacy, technique, anaesthesia and outcome can only be determined in an in-person consultation with a qualified doctor. Individual results vary.

References

• NHS — Liposuction:

• American Society of Plastic Surgeons — Liposuction: