Ask most people what liposuction does and they will tell you it removes fat. True, and only half the story. The other half is what happens to the skin once the fat underneath it is gone, and for decades that half was the part surgeons could not control.
At Southwest Plastic Surgery, the answer to that second half has been Renuvion J-Plasma, and it has been in daily use here since 2019.
Why Dr. Agullo Adopted It Early
Dr. Frank Agullo was one of the very first surgeons in the country to bring the technology in, and he did it because he kept running into the same wall.
“I saw a missing need after liposuction, which was skin tightening,” he told us. “We were able to perform liposuction effectively, but after deflating the subcutaneous tissue layer, many patients were left with loose skin, which required surgical excision. When we began using Renuvion, we noticed that the tissues would contract, and oftentimes the surgical excision of excess skin was not necessary anymore.”
Surgical excision is the polite phrase for cutting the loose skin away, which on the abdomen means a tummy tuck and on the upper arm means an arm lift. Both are excellent operations. Both leave a scar. Renuvion J-Plasma made it possible, in the right patient, to skip that trade entirely.
Seven years later he performs more than ten to twenty Renuvion J-Plasma cases per week, and according to Apyx Medical, the company that makes the device, he is among the ten highest-volume users in the world.
What Renuvion J-Plasma Is, in Plain English
Renuvion J-Plasma pairs helium plasma with radiofrequency energy and delivers both beneath the skin, through the same small openings the liposuction cannula already made. Nothing new is cut.
“Renuvion J-Plasma activates helium plasma and radiofrequency in the subcutaneous layers, making the connective tissue underneath shrink and contract, resulting in skin tightening and a smoother result,” Dr. Agullo said. “The helium plasma is important because it keeps the temperatures cool, which avoids burning.”
The connective tissue he is describing is the web of fibrous strands that anchors your skin down to the layers below it. Tighten that web, and the skin above comes along with it. The helium is what allows the energy to be delivered warm enough to do the job and still leave the tissue unharmed.
A New Study Backs Up What the Practice Sees
In March 2026, Huber and colleagues published a study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open. They went back through 113 patients from one surgeon’s practice, treated between October 2021 and October 2023. Seventy-three of them had power-assisted liposuction on its own. Forty had power-assisted liposuction followed by Renuvion J-Plasma. More than a year afterward, the patients themselves were surveyed using BODY-Q, a questionnaire validated for measuring exactly this kind of result.
| At more than 12 months | Liposuction alone | Liposuction plus Renuvion J-Plasma |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction with excess skin | 73.8 | 87.8 |
| Satisfaction with the abdomen (no tummy tuck performed) | 45.0 | 68.8 |
| Needed a revision procedure | 37.5 percent | 12 percent |
| Went on to need an abdominoplasty | 67.1 percent | 30 percent |
| Complication rate | 2.7 percent | 2.5 percent |
Fewer revisions, fewer tummy tucks, and the complication rate did not budge. The researchers are careful to point out that they were looking backward at cases already performed, that nobody was randomized, and that all of it came from one surgeon. That makes it a strong signal rather than a final word, and Dr. Agullo says the same thing when patients bring the study up. He also says it lines up with what he has watched happen in his own operating room for seven years running.
Who Is a Candidate at Southwest Plastic Surgery
This is where the consultation matters, and where Dr. Agullo is deliberately strict.
“In the right patient, one who does not have a lot of skin laxity or stretch marks and no rectus diastasis, the Renuvion J-Plasma can help keep patients away from an abdominoplasty and let them have just liposuction.”
That means three boxes have to be checked. Skin laxity is mild to moderate rather than severe. There are no significant stretch marks, because a stretch mark is a tear in the deeper layer of the skin and tightening underneath it will not repair it. And there is no rectus diastasis, the separation of the abdominal muscles that often follows pregnancy. When the muscle wall itself has come apart, the bulge is coming from the wall, not the skin, and a tummy tuck is the honest recommendation.
He is equally clear about where he stops:
“The most important thing is really knowing the limitations, and knowing that J-Plasma will not tighten extremely loose skin after pregnancy or massive weight loss. It is very powerful in contracting the skin, and it often keeps patients away from needing a brachioplasty or excision of back rolls.”
Where on the Body It Is Used
“I prefer to use Renuvion J-Plasma in the abdomen, the flanks, the upper back, the lateral chest, and around the knees,” Dr. Agullo said. “We also use it on the arms and thighs. I prefer not to use it in overly thin skin. If I encounter overly thin skin, I transition to BodyTite.”
Volume has taught him one more thing that does not appear in any brochure.
“There is a sweet spot in using J-Plasma, where more passes and more energy are not going to give you any further results. So being accurate in the number of passes and the energy for each area is extremely important to get the most benefit with the least risk.”
In other words, the skill is not in turning the device up. It is in knowing when to stop.
Recovery Does Not Get Longer
Patients often assume that adding a technology means adding downtime. At Southwest Plastic Surgery it does not.
“It’s important to know that Renuvion J-Plasma is not going to increase recovery times,” Dr. Agullo said. “The recovery itself and the protocol are the same with or without Renuvion J-Plasma when you have liposuction. We still use the garments, and we still use lymphatic massages.”
The compression garment stays. The post-surgical lymphatic massage schedule stays. Our med spa team handles that side of recovery, and patients who keep up with their massage appointments consistently move through swelling faster. The skin itself keeps tightening for months, so the six-week result is not the finish line.
Patients interested in the broader picture can read more about body contouring at Southwest Plastic Surgery or about the recovery services available through our med spa.
About Dr. Agullo
Dr. Frank Agullo is double board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery, completed his plastic surgery fellowship at Mayo Clinic, and has served as a Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine since 2011. He has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for thirteen consecutive years and is the founder of Southwest Plastic Surgery in El Paso, Texas.
#StayBeautiful
Ready To Talk?
To find out whether liposuction with Renuvion J-Plasma could get you the result you want without a larger scar, schedule a consultation. Call (915) 590-7900, text 1-866-814-0038, or book online at agulloplasticsurgery.com/appointments.
Read the patient-facing companion piece, Can Renuvion J-Plasma Keep You Out of a Tummy Tuck?, and Dr. Agullo’s candid surgeon-to-surgeon take, Seven Years of Renuvion J-Plasma, on his editorial site.
Follow along at @RealDrWorldWide on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, @Agullo on X, or @AgulloPlasticSurgery on Facebook.
