About ArtLipo Tampa
The ArtLipo liposuction practice is built around one simple idea: liposuction as an art form. At our practice based in Tampa, Florida, we specialize in awake liposuction, 360º arm and leg sculpting, body contouring, and lipedema surgery, all performed under local anesthesia.
What sets us apart from the rest of the pack and allows us to deliver specialized services is the fact that liposuction is the only thing we do. This very niche focus compared to other practices that offer a variety of cosmetic procedures under one roof is why patients travel from across the country and around the world to see us in Tampa Bay.
Our team is led by Dr. Thomas Su, and since he opened our full-time, awake-only clinic in 2007, we have completed over 10,000 liposuction procedures and helped thousands of lipedema patients manage their condition.
The Art of Liposuction
At ArtLipo, we operate on the idea that liposuction is not just about fat removal, but more about the art of sculpting the human anatomy. While we know that making someone smaller is easy, especially given the number of cosmetic surgery practices you have probably seen around, we take pride in holding ourselves to the higher standard of ensuring that you look your absolute best.
For this, we use a variety of state-of-the-art techniques to ensure that we completely and smoothly remove fat from various areas of your body, and your contours end up being sculpted in such a way that they flow naturally into the surrounding areas.
This kind of artistic focus can be traced straight back to our beloved founder, Dr. Su, who completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and spent four years studying the human figure before earning his medical degree.
This means that when you walk into ArtLipo, you can rest assured that every procedure we perform is shaped by a trained eye attuned to both medical rigor and superior aesthetic outcomes.
Awake Liposuction and Interactive Lipo
One of our core persuasions is that we perform every liposuction procedure awake using tumescent local anesthesia, meaning no general anesthesia or sedation are used. This awake liposuction approach helps eliminate a variety of cardiovascular perforation, blood clot, and neurological risks and complications associated with going under.
By eliminating these risks alongside the need for bedside care afterward to recover from the effects of sedation, we ensure that our patients get home the same day and recover faster since they only have to recover from the liposuction procedure itself and not sedation.
By keeping you awake, Dr. Su is also able to apply his Interactive Lipo method, where he asks patients to move and flex specific muscles during the procedure as he sculpts around them in real time and from different angles. It is this technique that forms the foundation of his trademarked Celebrity Arms™ sculpting and the Lipo 360 arm and leg liposuction approaches he pioneered more than a decade ago.
Body Contouring and Lipedema Expertise
ArtLipo’s liposuction service offerings target the full range of areas recommended for liposuction, such as the arms, abdomen, waist, back, thighs, legs, and chin. One of our most popular approaches is the Lipo 360 approach to arm liposuction and thigh, legs, and knees liposuction, where we treat the entire circumference of the limbs rather than a single small patch.
We also run one of the most experienced lipedema surgery centers in the world, and since lipedema demands a very different approach than ordinary cosmetic liposuction, we pride ourselves on being one of the top lipedema practices. We have helped thousands of women find meaningful symptom relief by building a treatment plan around each patient.
Meet Dr. Thomas Su
Dr. Thomas Su owns and operates the ArtLipo practice and has devoted his entire career to a single specialty rather than spreading his skills across a variety of procedures. He started his career with internal medicine, moved into cosmetic work in 2005, and finally opened our full-time awake-only liposuction clinic in 2007.
This specialization, built over decades, paired with his background as a figure artist, is what sets his work apart from the rest. As a renowned expert in the field, he teaches his techniques to other surgeons at meetings, including the AACS (American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery) and ASCOP (Associated Skin Care Professionals), and has also authored Celebrity Arms in a Day: Body Sculpting with the New Interactive Lipo Method, which is the book that introduced his Interactive Lipo method.
Learn more about Dr. Thomas Su
Affiliated Practices
ArtLipo is part of a family-owned healthcare organization with affiliated practices serving different patient needs. Learn more about our affiliated healthcare practices and the services they provide.
VIEW AFFILIATED PRACTICES ›
Artlipo belongs to a broader, family-owned healthcare network in Tampa that shares our belief in specialized, individualized and patient-focused care. One of those affiliated ventures is Quantum VSEL Stem Cell Therapy, an independently operated wellness practice in Tampa focusing on regenerative wellness using Very Small Embryonic-Like (VSEL) stem cell technology. The practice operates fully independent and separate from our surgical practices and its services are not part of Artlipo’s clinical offerings. To understand the full network that Dr. Su has built and how they are related, we encourage you to explore our affiliated practices.
In the Media and Community
Over the years, the work we do at ArtLipo has been highlighted in interviews, educational features, and news coverage, with much of it focused on advancing the conversation around lipedema and the artistry behind modern liposuction. The ArtLipo blog also provides extensive coverage of the latest news, techniques, and other general information about liposuction and lipedema.
Beyond the clinic, Dr. Su still draws the human figure and shows his work in juried art exhibitions such as the annual Nude Nite Tampa.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does ArtLipo specialize in?
Artlipo specializes exclusively in awake liposuction, and this includes 360º arm and leg sculpting, body contouring, and lipedema surgery. Each procedure is performed under local anesthesia, which means that the patient is awake the whole time. The process is also interactive since the patient gets to flex their muscles as the surgeon works on them and gets real-time feedback.
What makes ArtLipo different?
Two things set us apart. The first is Dr. Su’s background as a trained figure artist, bringing a sculptor’s eye to every procedure, and the second is our exclusive focus on awake liposuction with the Interactive Lipo technique, which delivers smoother, more natural-looking results.
Does ArtLipo perform arm liposuction?
Yes. Arm liposuction is one of our signature procedures. We perform it awake using our Lipo 360 approach that we also use to treat the full circumference of the thighs, legs, and knees. In fact, Lipo 360 is what forms the foundation of Dr. Su’s trademarked Celebrity Arms™ sculpting.
