Liposuction Procedures

New advances in liposuctioning have made this popular procedure safer with less recovery time. Here is a brief summary of current liposuctioning techniques.

The tumescent technique first instills a large amount of salt water mixed with adrenalin and xylocaine into the fat with a small needle. The adrenalin constricts the blood vessels and helps reduce bleeding and bruising. The xylocaine helps reduce post-operative discomfort. The tumescent fluids also make the fat cells easier to remove, by putting hydrostatic pressure on them, and the fluids also reduce blood loss and bruising by constricting the blood vessels.

The use of ultrasound also helps reduce trauma. A small tube with ultrasound waves is passed into the fat after the tumescent fluid has had a chance to sit. The ultrasonic waves help emulsify the salt water and fat cells into a frappe! When the final cannula goes in to evacuate the fat, the fat removed looks like a banana cream frappe. There are several manufacturers of ultrasound lipo machines. VASER calls its technique Liposelection. All the companies would probably cringe at this analogy, but really the ultrasound probe cuts through the fat like a hot knife through butter. Although it is really not heat per se, it is the ultrasonic waves that start the fat cells vibrating, which causes them to burst. The result is fat cell frappe.

Liposuctioning has really come a long way from the early days, with the large, ungainly cannulas that could make the skin look like a ploughed field. New on the horizon is Smartlipo – the use of a very small laser probe to help dissolve the fat. Hmm. Lasers are really excellent at fine localized and precise pinpoint work, but most people have more generalized fat than that. Other fat busting techniques – such as mesotherapy and lipodissolve, which use medications known to dissolve fat–are injected under the skin, and then your body is supposed to carry away the dead fat cells. I have not tried these, but have been following reports of this for many years. I am still keeping my mind open, but at this time I am not certain they have perfected the EXACT formula that will effectively dissolve fat cells without damaging other cells.

Liposuctioning is done as a day surgery, out-patient procedure. Recovery can be just a few days, if just one small area is done, or several weeks if a more extensive procedure is performed.

Before and After Photos

Patient A

This young lady always felt she had a “spare tire” wrapped around her tummy and flanks. She had liposuctioning of the entire front of her abdomen as well as the sides, to make her more proportionate. Height 5’4″, weight 136 before surgery.

Patient B

34 years old, 5’1″ tall, 115 pounds. She really had extra fatty tissue from her waist down that was diet and exercise resistant. She had her stomach as well as her inner and outer thighs liposuctioned. You can tell that she was not at all overweight before her surgery; she just had extra inches of fat, which never really would have gone away without starving herself.

Patient C

“I had liposuction of my inner thighs and saddlebags in March. I just wish I had done it years ago! I am 33 years old, and I’ve always had disproportionately large thighs and it had gotten worse as I grew older. I am not overweight (5’4″, 125 pounds), I work out 3-4 times per week doing at least one hour of aerobic activity at each workout. Unfortunately combining exercise with a sensible diet was not effective in reducing the size of my thighs. I just wanted my body to reflect my efforts! So I had the liposuction and I couldn’t be happier with the results. I finally have the body I’ve always wanted!” -BPS

Patient D

This gentleman works out. Exercises regularly. Eats a balanced diet. But his love handles would just never go away. These fat cells are diet resistant and, I believe, without a starvation diet, would never, ever go away on their own.

Patient E

Patient D

“High definition liposculpture,” or “liposelection,” is one of the current marketing rants – sounds like a dream come true: “look muscular without diet or exercise!” The fat is sculpted out to look like muscles? Become a butter sculpture? No, unfortunately real muscles come from working out and discipline. Lots of discipline. But sometimes, with age and time, there can be stubborn fat pockets that appear. These are perfect for liposuctioning. But this is done to reveal the muscles underneath, not to create or to cover them.

Patient G