Everything You Need To Know About Liposuction

Liposuction is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures currently available. As recently as 2014, there were over 210,000 reported liposuction procedures in the United States. What exactly is liposuction and how does it help you?

• Liposuction sucks the fat from a number of areas of the body and breaks it up before it is actually suctioned.
• The procedure uses a hollow instrument known as a cannula. The cannula is inserted into the skin of the patient and then the fat is removed via the use of a high pressure vacuum that is attached to Some of the areas of the human body where liposuction is often performed include the calves, buttocks, abdomen, thighs and arms.

Now that you know what liposuction is, how does it make a change in your appearance?

• Liposuction reduces the total amount of patient fat cells in the area of the body being treated by the procedure.
• In general, liposuction is only performed on limited and/or small areas of the human body. It is a more focused procedure rather than treating larger areas of the body.

It is important to note that liposuction is not considered a weight loss treatment and is not an alternative to proper diet and exercise. According to Dr. Rhoda S. Narins, “Liposuction is a contouring procedure and no weight is lost during the process.” Dr. Narins went on to add that liposuction “makes a permanent change in your appearance. It is meant for the person who is a normal weight, or not more than 20-39 pounds overweight, and wants to get rid of saddlebags on the outer thighs as well as make the hips, arms, neck, abdomen, buttocks, calves or ankles smaller.” In general, liposuction aims to make a change in the appearance of a person as well as improving the contour of the body.  Patients need to maintain a healthy lifestyle to avoid making their remaining fat cells grow even bigger as time passes.

Patients need to be aware of the fact that liposuction is not a “one size fits all” procedure. In fact, there are a variety of techniques available for patients to choose from including:

• Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction which uses ultrasound technology to liquefy the fat and makes it easier to remove. This techniques work particularly well on removing fat from the sides, back and upper abdomen.
• Wet Liposuction is when an amount of fluid with less volume than the total amount of fat to be removed is injected into the targeted treatment area. The fluid loosens the fat cells before the cells are taken out of the patient.
• Tumescent Liposuction is where a local anesthetic numbs the area where the tube will be inserted into the patient. A saline solution that has lidocaine and epinephrine is then injected into the area that is targeted to be suctioned.
• Super-Wet Liposuction uses less liquid than tumescent liposuction. However, it does remove close to the same amount of fat.
• Laser-Assisted Liposuction uses a low-energy laser light. The laser light liquefies the fat before it is removed by the cannula.
• Dry Liposuction is where no fluid is injected to help loosen the fat.
• Power-Assisted Liposuction is performed using a special cannula that moves back and forth at a faster pace than manually operated cannulas. The cannula is operated by a mechanical system which makes it easier to remove the fat.

How do you know if you’re a good candidate for liposuction? In general, people who are good candidates include:

• People that have a good skin tone.
• People with good skin elasticity because the elasticity is helpful in achieving excellent skin contouring. A lack of good skin elasticity can cause the skin to look loose after the procedure.
• Patients in general good health are usually good candidates.

Finally, it’s important for surgeons to set realistic results expectations before the liposuction procedure. The total amount of fat that can be removed from a person is limited no matter how healthy the patient is before the procedure. A limited amount of fat is removed in order to keep the patient safe as well as to avoid complications such as infections, scarring and numbness. When it comes to the best liposuction technique for a patient, Dr. Narins says, “tumescent liposuction with local anesthesia is safer and better than liposuction with general anesthesia. Whether any other modalities such as a laser are added is up to the individual physician.”

- MA