What is liposuction?
Liposuction – it has many names and forms. The most common of these are lipoplasty, liposculpture and lipectomy. They are all the same procedure – most of these names were coined by surgeons who wanted their liposuction techniques to stand out and sound better than their competitors.

Liposuction is basically a surgical procedure where fat deposits are suctioned from specified parts of the body through a small incision. It will lose the patient lots of weight and is a way to change the body’s shape and contours. Do not expect liposcution to reduce your cellulite – it is more likely to worsen it than reduce it. Cellulite is caused by the shape of fat cells close to the skin. These cells are not affected by liposuction, which only removes deep fat.

Am I suitable for liposuction?
Liposuction is best for people who are near ideal body weight and are aiming to change the contours or shape of their body. It is not a quick-fix method for losing weight. The most common places to have liposuction are the hips, outer thighs, tummy, neck, inner thighs, knees and arms. Liposuction does better for people if their weight has been fairly stable for the past six months. Skin tone is also important – the better your skin tone, the better your skin will retract after surgery. If your skin tone isn’t that great, you may end up with loose skin or stretch marks.

Is Liposuction better than a tummy tuck?
Liposuction reduces the thickness of the fat underneath the skin. If your skin tone is good, it will also slightly tighten your skin up. If you are just looking for excess fat removal, liposuction would be a good choice. Tummy tucks are better for people who already suffer from loose skin and/or stretch marks as the procedure will tighten skin up.

Scars
Scars are small – about 1/4 inch long. There will be quite a few of them however a good surgeon will be able to hide them in skin creases to lessen their visibility. For the scars which cannot be put in skin creases, they will be highly visible for a few months after surgery.

The surgery itself
Liposuction will be generall performed under general anesthetic unless only a tiny area needs to be worked on, in which case local anesthetic will be used. The procedure can last between half an hour to four hours, depending on the amount of fat to be removed.

Post-surgery
After surgery, you will be placed in a special garment, rather like a girdle. You will have to wear this for several weeks. If a lot of fat was removed, you may have to stay in hospital overnight. Most people however, will be able to go home the same day. You will probably be given anything up to 2 weeks of pain medication. Expect swelling over the next 8 weeks. The majority of the swelling should go within 2 weeks.

You will be bruised for the 10 days after surgery. Numbness and tingling may occur in the areas which were suctioned. This is because nerve endings may be damaged or irritated because of the surgery.

Any stitches will be removed in 5-10 days. You will be able to return to work after the stitches have been removed. Gentle exercise is advisable only after 4 weeks. Exercise before this period may increase swelling and postpone your full recovery.

Click here if you would like to see ways in which you can help get the best results from your liposuction.

What are the risks?
Fat Embolous: This is a fat collection which accumulates in the blood vesssels during or after surgery. This may travel through the blood vessels into the lungs and cause breathing difficulties. This risk of this happening is less than 1 in 10,000.
Leg Blood Clots: This is more common in longer operations, and can happen in any surgery. You can reduce the risk of this my asking your surgeon to give you some compression stockings to wear if your surgery is going to last over 2 hours.
Dimples and uneven fat distribution: This is most common when the surgeon uses large liposuction rods (6-8mm). Ask your surgeon to use the smallest rods possible for your surgery. If uneven fat distributions do occur, it can be very difficult to remedy.
Discoloration: The skin around the area of surgery may turn dark and blotchy after your operation. This is because your skin cells are releasing pigments because of the stress of healing. This should resolve itself on its own, and it cannot be prevented.
Burning/tingling sensations: The is quite a common side effect and is due to the nerve endings being damaged or irritated by the surgery. This should go away after 2 months.
Fluid collection: Fluid can collect underneath the skin. This is remedied by a drain being put in place to draw the fluid out. This must be done by a surgeon.