Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Thomas Su.
Dr. Su, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Dr. Thomas Su. I started liposuction focused practice 15 years ago named Artistic Lipo, with a dedication to artistry since my passion prior to becoming a doctor was in the art of the human figure. I am a rare cosmetic surgeon that actually earned a degree in Fine Arts before ever becoming a doctor. Even in my beginning, I began incorporating my sculpting skills into my liposuction. As my skills grew, I began creating many of my own techniques specializing in high definition ultra complete liposuction, something that is very different than the traditional liposuction that only removes a modest amount of fat from limited areas. My unique contribution to the plastic surgery world is what I have coined Celebrity Arms™ liposuction. Until now, all plastic surgeons are taught to only remove fat from the backside/underside of the arm only. In many patients, this results in almost unnoticeable change because so much fat is on the shoulders and sides of the arm. What I created was something that no other surgeon had ever done, full circumferential sculpting of the full upper arm and shoulder that not only made it look slimmer but actually creates a defined look revealing the biceps, triceps, and deltoid muscles. Now women who have been struggling with thicker undefined arms can have sleek, toned, and sexy-looking arms through artistically done liposuction, all in a matter of a few hours, and also while safely awake. We have now been doing this type of surgery for eight years and over 2000 patients. As of now, only a very few surgeons in the entire world have attempted to do the same and are in their infancy compared to what we do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. During medical school, I deviated from plastic surgery and went into Internal Medicine, which I initially practiced for eight years. I left Internal medicine to return to my passion for doing something in cosmetic surgery. By great fortune, doing awake liposuction was something that I found I could do without returning to a residency in plastic surgery. Even though this might have been limiting to some doctors who want to do everything in plastic surgery, for me, I think there is nothing more pure than liposuction because if done with the right mindset, it is really all about sculpture. The road has been rocky though, in my 15 years as a cosmetic surgeon, and I have been criticized and attacked by board-certified plastic surgeons in the community who have felt threatened by a non-board-certified doctor who could perform much better liposuction than they ever could. I have fought legislation put forth by the plastic surgeons that would have limited what I can do in my practice and have prevailed. Of course, running a small business for any business owner automatically comes with many typical struggles.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Artlipo Plastic Surgery?
My business started off as Artistic Lipo when I was the sole doctor/surgeon and only performing liposuction. As my practice grew and became very specialized in ultra complete high definition liposuction, I found my schedule packed and needed help. I eventually hired two board-certified plastic surgeons who had a similar outlook about liposuction and trained them in my special techniques, including Celebrity Arms™. I renamed the practice Art Lipo Plastic Surgery since we now also offer a full range of plastic surgery. However, we still primarily do ultra complete liposuction since that is what our clientele search us out for. What we specialize in has also been called lipo 360, referring to a circumferential approach around the torso. Still, we are the pioneers of doing lipo 360 on the arms, and in recent years around the legs also. Dr. Su is one of only about ten surgeons in the entire country specializing in performing liposuction for lipedema and arguably the best. We are unique and proud of the fact that we have more than half of our patients travel from all over the U.S. and also from other countries all over the world for our expertise.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The most important quality for our success is our dedication to artistry in liposuction and doing the best that we can do. I would say it’s about perfection, but I really don’t strive for perfection as it doesn’t exist in cosmetic surgery. Everyone is different, and we do the best that I think anyone could do for the patients that we treat. That is what makes our patients return to us and refer us, and it’s what makes me sleep soundly at night.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://artlipo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlipoplasticsurgery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtLipoPlasticSurgery
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNh7wlWroshm5vVwbWNfExQ
