Liposuction

What is liposuction?

Liposuction is a technique to remove unwanted fat deposits from different areas of the body, including the chin, neck, cheeks, upper arms and above the breasts, abdomen, buttocks, hips, thighs, knees, calves, and ankles. Liposuction is a plastic surgery method of removing localized fat that doesn't respond to dieting and exercise.
Fat deposits will be removed under the skin by vacuuming fat tissue through a long, hollow needle called a cannula. The cannula is inserted through a tiny incision into the fat tissue, then the deposits will be loosened up and destroyed with a vibration technique while a strong vacuum removes them through the cannula.

Who can have liposuction?

There are fat deposits under everyone's skin. The best candidates for liposuction may have bulging and flabby areas of the body from these fat deposits, especially the abdomen, arms, thighs, and neck. Even in people who eat a healthy diet and stay physically fit, these fat deposits can persist. This can be caused by genetic factors, body chemistry, or other causes.
There are a lot of people, who have made an effort to eliminate the fatty deposits through extensive exercise and diet, but some bulges are exercise resistant, and liposuction may provide a solution.

When is liposuction not appropriate?

Liposuction is not designed for weight loss, and it is not for patients who are very overweight or who have large areas of fat deposits. For these patients, it is best to lose weight first and reduce the fatty area through diet or exercise before considering liposuction.
If overweight patients cannot lose weight on their own and are obese, then a gastric bypass procedure may be considered.
If a patient loses considerable weight and has excess skin after the weight loss, then an abdominoplasty may be performed to remove excess tissue, and tighten muscles, and liposuction can be performed at the same time for the removal of excess fatty deposits.

Liposuction price

Cosmetic Surgery Prices: Liposuction

What realistic expectations should we be aware of?

Remember that liposuction should be used in conjunction with diet and exercise, not as a substitute. Liposuction, like other cosmetic surgery techniques, is a mean to enhance body shape. However, it cannot completely change your shape. You should have realistic expectations; liposuction may improve the appearance of the treated area, but may have no impact on other areas of your life.
You will see a noticeable difference in the shape of your body quite soon after surgery. However, improvement will become even more apparent after about six weeks, when the swelling has subsided. Most patients are very satisfied with the results of their liposuction. They feel more comfortable in a wide variety of clothes, and more at ease with their bodies. As long as your expectations are realistic, you should be happy with your new shape.

The liposuction procedure

Examinations and laboratory tests are needed prior to this procedure. This procedure is generally performed under general anesthesia, but in some cases local anesthesia is applied. The decision for which type of anesthesia to use involves both you and your doctor and takes into account how much time the surgery takes. Time in surgery varies, depending on the size of the area being treated. However, many people choose to treat multiple areas, which will increase the total time. General anesthesia is also preferred for people who wish to avoid the possibility of anxiety or discomfort that they may associate with the procedure or for some people for which the size of the treated area doesn’t allow to use just local anesthesia.
First, you would receive a local anesthetic in the area to be treated, as well as any additional anesthetics that you and your doctor decide upon. Your surgeon would make an incision and insert a cannula under the skin, removing the unwanted fat deposits from the underside skin. With our plastic surgery technique, we are applying the most modern liposuction with PAL (Power Assisted Liposuction) vibration system.

Liposuction incision size

The location of the liposuction treatment plays an important role in determining the size of the cannula and the number of incisions. The most common liposuction cannulas are 3 mm, but they can range from 1.5 mm to 6 mm. For smaller cannulas, more incisions are needed, but the incisions are smaller and leave less scarring. Larger cannulas with larger incisions achieve results over a larger area through possibly only one incision. In either case, your surgeon strives to minimize scarring as much as possible.

After liposuction

The skin will be swollen and sore, and this can last for several days. In some cases, the incisions are left open temporarily so that fluids and residual fatty deposits can empty through an inserted drain. Antibiotics may be prescribed to reduce the possibility of infection.
Often the treatment area is wrapped with elastic bandages, or support hosiery, or a girdle is prescribed, to compress tissue and help control swelling and bruising. Your surgeon may want you to wear the bandage or garment for several days.

Liposuction final results may not be fully evident for up to six months. Liposuction can be repeated for a given area of the body a number of times, as long as the area has completely healed from the previous treatment. But this is not usually necessary, because with traditional liposuction the fat removal is permanent.

Complications

Liposuction is a widely performed procedure. Health risks from complications are low. However, as with every surgical procedure, there are also complications that can occur. The possibilities of these are two to three percent.
The most serious complication is an inflammation that ranges from a little flush that normally disappears in a couple of days to a serious inflammation which may create the need to reopen the area to remove mucus. Bleeding may also occur, causing an hematoma. This can also cause inflammation.
The sensitivity of the treated area occurs usually temporarily and will diminish, but in some cases, it can become permanent. Skin discoloration can also occur, and skin may become a shade darker than the surrounding area and the skin over the operated area may adhere roughly, causing dents on its surface.