RM Aesthetics
Plastic Surgery & Cosmetic Laser Centre
Dr. Ravi Mahajan
M.ch (Plastic Surgery)
M.S. (General Surgery) M.B.B.S
What is Liposuction?
The concept of liposuction is surprisingly simple. Liposuction is a surgical technique that improves the body´s contour by removing excess fat deposits located between the skin and muscle. Liposuction involves the use of a small stainless steel tube, called a cannula (from the Latin word for reed, tube, cane). The liposuction cannula, typically connected to a powerful suction pump, is inserted into the fat through small incisions in the skin, and fat is removed by suction as the cannula creates tiny tunnels through the fat. During the healing process after liposuction, these tiny tunnels shrink and disappear, resulting in an improved body contour.
Who is a good candidate for liposuction?
The best candidates for liposuction are in good health and have realistic expectations of what liposuction can accomplish. Liposuction can provide a significant improvement, but it is unlikely to achieve perfection. A good candidate usually has one or more localized accumulations of fat that can be removed by liposuction.
Who is not a good candidate for liposuction?
How much weight can I lose by liposuction?
Patients should not expect to lose a dramatic amount of weight with liposuction. However, because fat is removed from cosmetically important areas, liposuction should produce significant improvements in aesthetic appearance. Although liposuction should not be regarded as a method for weight loss, in appropriate patients it can produce significant cosmetic improvements.
Is liposuction a reasonable treatment for obesity?
Liposuction is not a good treatment of obesity. Liposuction is not effective, even as a last resort, for people who are unable to lose weight by dieting and exercise. Obese patients almost always regain the weight that is removed by liposuction unless there is a dramatic reduction in calorie intake (by dieting) or a significant increase in calorie expenditure (by exercising). Whenever large-volume liposuction has been used in an attempt to treat obesity by surgery, there has been a significant increase in the incidence of serious surgical complications. It is not safe to remove huge amounts of fat by liposuction. It is dangerous to remove more than 8 to 10 pounds of fat by liposuction in a single day. Thus, liposuction will not be of any significant benefit for an obese patient who believes that liposuction will aid in the effort to lose weight.
On the other hand, an overweight person whose weight has been stable for many years and has certain problem-areas of fat may be a good candidate for liposuction. Liposuction in an obese patient is reasonable when the goal is to improve a troublesome body contour area. It is not reasonable to use liposuction as a surgical technique for weight loss.
What is a successful liposuction surgery?
A liposuction surgery is a success when the patient is happy with the results. The surgeon´s goal is to obtain an optimal aesthetic result rather than to maximize the amount of fat removed.
Does liposuction remove cellulite?
Liposuction improves the silhouette of the body, but does not necessarily eliminate the pre-existing subtle "puckering" of the skin that is often referred to as "cellulite." Liposuction does reduce the degree of cellulite to a minor degree but unable improve or completely eliminate cellulite.
Does liposuction produce permanent results?
After liposuction the body´s new shape is more or less permanent. Fat cells that are removed by liposuction do not grow back. As long as the patient does not gain excessive amounts of weight, the new, more pleasing silhouette is permanent. Of course after liposuction the clock keeps ticking, and advancing age will produce the usual changes in the shape of the body associated with the aging process. If a person gains weight after liposuction, she/he will not accumulate as much fat in the treated areas as would have happened if liposuction had not been done.
What Alternatives Are There to Liposuction?
Liposuction is never absolutely necessary. If you decide that liposuction is not for you, then you may consider the following alternatives to liposuction. Weight loss without liposuction can produce excellent aesthetic results. Weight loss can be achieved by dieting (decreased calorie intake) or by increased exercise (expenditure of calories). An alternative to abdominal liposuction is a tummy tuck.
What are the risks of liposuction surgery?
As judged by current worldwide experience, liposuction is amazingly safe. As with any surgical procedure, liposuction is associated with certain common side effects such as bruising, swelling and temporary numbness. Although irregularities of the skin are possible following liposuction but when microcannulas are used, noticeable irregularities are uncommon. Major complications associated with liposuction are rare especially
1) when the patient is not excessively obese,
2) when the patient does not have too much liposuction on a single day, and
3) the patient does not have another unrelated surgical procedure (breast surgery, facelift, hysterectomy, etc.) on the same day.
What can one expect if one gets pregnant after liposuction?
Pregnancy does not permanently alter the results of liposuction. If a woman has liposuction and subsequently becomes pregnant, gains weight, gives birth and finally loses the excess weight of pregnancy, then her original liposuction improvements will return, just as if she had never been pregnant.
How long will it be until I see results?
Most patients will see 90% of their ultimate liposuction results with in one to three months after surgery. For the first few weeks after surgery there is postoperative swelling. The rate at which this swelling subsides depends on the surgeon’s surgical technique and method for postoperative care. When the surgeon closes the incisions with stitches, swelling usually resolves within 8 to 12 weeks.
