For many people, liposuction offers opportunities to redefine the curves of the body if you have areas of fat that simply won’t budge despite a stable body weight. Liposuction is a surgical way of removing fat from areas like the abdomen, hips, thighs and backside. When you remove the fat, these areas of the body change shape and you’re left with a much more attractive contour through the area.
While making a dramatic difference in your appearance, liposuction isn’t a great way to lose a lot of weight. You can’t suck out more than just a few pounds of fat at a time – the best way to lose weight is through diet and exercise. But if you’ve lost weight and have an area that is stubborn – like the sides of your thighs or a small ring around your waist, liposuction is a great way to remove that fat and enjoy a sculpted appearance.
Why Choose Liposuction?
Diet and exercise reduce the fat from all areas of your body over time. Once you’ve reached a stable weight, however, you may realize that you still have pockets of fat that are greater than you’d like. Liposuction is used to remove this fat by targeting specific areas. The fat that is resistant to diet and exercise is surgically removed. Even though you may only lose five pounds or less through liposuction, those pounds are in just the right area and you come out of surgery with a new image.
Most commonly liposuction is performed in the abdomen, hips, thighs, backside, chest, back, ankles, calves, upper arms, neck, chin or for breast reduction.
Liposuction: The Right Choice?
Normally when you gain weight, the fat cells in your body grow and change shape. When you lose weight, the fat cells don’t disappear, they simply shrink. When you use liposuction, those same fat cells are actually removed leaving you with less fat in a particular area and with a far less likelihood of gaining weight back in that particular region. Usually liposuction is considered permanent so long as your weight remains stable.
An important aspect to consider with liposuction is the elasticity of your skin. If you have smooth skin that is healthy and has plenty of elasticity, that skin is likely to reshape around the newly thinned area. This means the recounted area of your body will appear natural and smooth.
If you have skin in the area that is loose and thin, the area where you just had the fat removed may appear wrinkled and dimpled. Additionally, skin that is already dimpled and stretched, you’re unlikely to see any improvement in the unsmooth skin. In fact, it may appear even worse after surgery. Liposuction does not remove stretch marks as stretch marks are damaged skin – not a result of fat under the skin’s surface.
If you want to consider liposuction for your weight loss and body shaping, you need to be in good health and not have any conditions that would keep you from surgery. For example, if you suffer from restricted blood flow, coronary artery disease or diabetes, you won’t be a good candidate for liposuction.
Getting Ready for Liposuction
As you prepare for liposuction, you’ll want to discuss the process and any concerns you may have with your doctor. Ask your surgeon exactly what to expect from the surgery and be open and honest about your family’s medical history and your own history. Always disclose any medicines, supplements or herbs you’ve been taking as these can have an impact on how your body reacts to the surgery and medicines and processes involved.
In most cases, liposuction removes larger amounts of fat and is done in a hospital that requires an overnight stay. This is especially true if liposuction is one of several procedures you’re undergoing at a given time. If you’re only having a small amount of fat removed, perhaps from your neck or ankles, you might have the procedure done in an office setting, but regardless, you should make arrangements to have someone drive you home after the surgery and then take time to rest and heal.
Having Liposuction
When you come into the doctor’s office before your appointment, you can expect the doctor to mark you with lines and circles showing the areas where he needs to concentrate during the surgery to make the most difference. Photographs will likely be taken as well while you are standing as you’ll be lying down during the actual procedure and you’ll also want to have a before and after image to work with to show the difference the surgery actually makes.
There are a few different ways liposuction can be performed and the length and intensity of the actual procedure varies based on how your doctor chooses to perform your surgery.
Tumescent liposuction – The most common form of liposuction, tumescent liposuction involves a surgeon first injecting a saline solution into the area where he or she will be removing fat from your body. Then he’ll use a drug to shrink blood cells to minimize bleeding and a pain relief drug before staring the surgery. The combination of shots and injections makes the area you’re treating swell and grow stiffer. This makes it easier for the surgeon to target the right fat cells for removal.
Once the area is prepared, the surgeon makes small cuts in your skin and then uses these cuts to insert a cannula under the skin. The cannula is like a pointed straw and it’s attached by a tube to a vacuum canister. Once the apparatus is turned on, it sucks out fat cells through the thin tube to be stored in a canister. Since the liposuction also sucks out fluids, you’ll need to have your fluids replenished through an IV line during this procedure.
Powered Liposuction – In powered liposuction, the cannula that is used in the more basic liposuction moves in a rapid back and forth pattern. This movement helps the surgeon get to and release tougher fats more easily. Surgeons usually prefer powered liposuction for smaller areas as it is more precise and can cause less pain and swelling after the surgery. It also is much easier on the surgeon as the power helps aid in the removal of the fat.
UAL or Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction – Often used with the more basic liposuction, UAL includes ultrasonic energy. During the surgery, the surgeon uses a metal rod that releases ultrasonic energy under your skin. This energy helps to rupture the walls of fat cells and helps to liquefy fat making it much easier to remove.
Once you’re marked and ready for surgery, your doctor and anesthesiologist will administer either a local anesthesia or a general one. If you’re having only a small portion of your body worked through liposuction, you may only need a local anesthesia, but almost all larger surgeries require a general anesthesia which will make you unconscious during the procedure. There will also be a sedative administered to help you relax and stay calm during the procedure, especially if you’re only using a localized anesthesia.
During the procedure, the team of surgeons and other medical professionals will be monitoring your heart rate and vital signs to ensure you’re responding well to the surgery. If you’re using a located anesthesia, be sure to communicate with the medical team if you’re feeling uncomfortable during any part of the surgery.
After Liposuction
You may be in surgery for several hours if you’re having a lot of fat removed. After the doctor removes the fat through the tiny incisions, he may leave those incisions open and allow them to heal together naturally to ensure the fluids have a way to regulate. If you are in your doctor’s office, you may be asked to wait a few hours and be monitored during your recovery before you’re allowed to go home to rest.
If you’ve had a large procedure done or a combination of procedures, you’ll wake in the hospital and you should be kept overnight to monitor your body’s recovery including your hydration levels while your body regulates fluid levels again. This is to prevent you from going into shock from fluid losses as well.
Once the liposuction procedure is finished, you will experience pain and swelling as well as some significant bruising. It may be difficult to return to work in the first few days after the surgery and you’ll want to wait a few weeks at least before starting your exercise routines.
It’s likely your surgeon will recommend and prescribe a medication to help control the pain as well as antibiotics to remove the possibility of infection. Additionally, under your regular clothing you may be asked to wear tightly fitting garments called compression garments to help reduce the swelling. These may be part of your wardrobe for a few weeks to get the best results from your surgery. While your body heals, it may not appear smooth and normal. The fat has to settling into position and this can take some time and be unattractive in the meantime.
Once your surgery is complete, you’ll have about four weeks of swelling total before everything returns to normal. In about four weeks the treated areas will appear less bulky and after a couple of months, the areas will appear leaner and have the appearance you were hoping for heading into surgery.
So long as you maintain your weight, the liposuction is considered permanent. If you were to gain weight again, the fat distribution in your body can change quite dramatically. If you once gained weight in your thighs and backside, for example, after treatment, you may be more likely to gain weight in your midsection or your upper body, for example.
Liposuction and Risks
Liposuction is a major surgery, and like all surgeries there are risks to consider. Among the most potent risks to consider regarding liposuction, you should be concerned and take into account:
Anesthesia – there is always a risk with anesthesia. Liposuction is a major surgery and you will be put to sleep during the event as this is the correct method of prevent movement and for your safety. However, any time you use general anesthesia, there is a risk you will need to discuss with your doctor.
Bleeding – Another common concern during any type of surgery, bleeding can occur during the surgery putting you at risk. Again, discuss this possibility with your doctor.
Skin irregularities – Since you’ve removing the fat under the skin, there is a chance that the skin won’t be smooth when the surgery is done. Your skin might appear bumpy or shrunken like a balloon that has lost its air. If the fat removed isn’t done evenly or you have poor skin elasticity, you can have permanent irregularities in your skin tone.
Pockets of fluid – After the surgery, you can accumulate fluid in pockets under the skin. This fluid has to be removed with a needle.
Infection – While rare, it is possible to get infections from liposuction. If you were to develop a severe skin infection, the condition would be life threatening.
Numbness – Following surgery you may experience areas of numbness. This numbness can be permanent or just temporary. It’s also possible to experience some nerve irritation or damage as well, generally on a temporary basis.
Internal Puncture – While never something you’d like to think about, the motion of liposuction with the movement of the collection devices may lead to an internal puncture. When this happens, you’ll be subjected to emergency surgery to repair the affected organ.
Fat Embolism – When fat is removed during liposuction, there is a chance that a piece of that fat may break off inside your body. If the fat travels to your blood vessels, it can become lodged in a vessel or travel to the lungs or brain. An embolism like this is considered a medical emergency.
Kidney and Heart Problems - As fat and fluids are being sucked out and injected into your body can wreak havoc on your kidneys and heart. There is a small chance of life-threatening problems with these fluid shifts and your organs’ response.
Risks increase with the more surgeries you choose to do in one day. If you plan to work on multiple parts of your body at once, speak with your surgeon ahead of time and discuss your concern over the possible risks from the surgery and how to best protect yourself from complications.
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