Liposuction, also known as Liposculpture, is the most commonly performed plastic surgery in the United States - where more than 400,000 men and women annually undergo this procedure. A cosmetic surgery that contours and sculpts your body into a slimmer profile, Liposuction removes unwanted and excess fat. By reducing total body fat, it can help to lower cholesterol, and reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Men and women tend to store fat in different areas. Men often put extra weight around their love handles and abdomen while women tend to gain it around their thighs and hips. While exercise and dieting reduce total body fat they cannot induce spot fat reduction. For example, push-ups do not reduce the fat around the abdomen but help to reduce the total body fat. Considering this, liposuction provides an avenue for selectively removing fat and therefore sculpting the body in ways not possible by other means. Can a person regain fat in areas that were liposuctioned? Most likely no. This is because fat only gets deposited into fat cells. Because liposuction removes fat cells from the areas that are suctioned, new fat will be deposited in other areas of the body. This is not a big issue unless a person gains significant weight (>40lbs) after liposuction.

The first category of patients includes those who wish to reduce their size, including women who have gained weight due to pregnancy, hormonal fluctuations or medications. This category also includes men and women who undergo Large Volume Liposuction. Normally, Liposuction involves the removal of about two litres of fat, about the size of a "Coke" bottle. During Large Volume Liposuction, however, five or more litres of fat are removed – resulting in a dramatic reduction in size.

The second category includes those who have disproportionate areas of fat in their abdomen, hips, thighs, buttocks, knees, cheeks and neck. These problem areas are commonly known as "saddlebags," "thunder thighs," "love handles" and "double chins." Often, these stubborn areas of fat have genetic origins, and cannot be reduced by diet and exercise.

Tumescent Liposuction refers to the commonest, and safest, method. "Tumescence" is the swelling and firming of fatty tissues through the infusion of a saline solution that contains Lidocaine, an anesthetic with adrenaline, which reduces blood loss and bruising.

Tumescent liposuction is a method designed to minimize blood loss with liposuction. Never the less, there is a safe limit of amount to be liposuctioned depending on the patients weight, blood count, and health status. There is a less than 1% chance of infection. This risk is greatly reduced by giving patients antibiotics during the surgery and afterwards. The areas that are suctioned usually become numb after surgery and it takes several months for the feeling to return.

What is ultrasonic liposuction and is it better?

Ultrasonic liposuction is a method in which an ultrasound probe is inserted in to the fatty areas to help break up fat cells by bursting them with ultrasonic energy. While this might makes the plastic surgeon’s job faster and easier, in my opinion, it exposes the patient to additional unnecessary risks. There have been many reports of skin burns, nerve damage, and seroma and fluid buildup which has never been an issue with the traditional liposuction techniques. You should discuss the pros and cons of this method with you plastic surgeon in detail before making a decision.

Liposuction can be performed under local or general anesthesia. This depends on the extent of the liposuction as well as the health status of a patient. I perform most liposuctions at our surgical center, which is certified by the state’s department of health for surgeries such as this. After surgery patients are monitored and then discharged home or to an after-care medical facility to recuperate. Patients usually wear special garments that help reduce the swelling and bruising after surgery. Depending on the type and extent of surgery most patients return to work in a few days. Liposuction like any other surgical procedure carries certain potential risks and complications. There is loss of blood involved with liposuction because some blood is also removed along with the fat. Therefore, the larger the amount of liposuction the bigger the blood loss.

For optimal results, Liposuction should be performed by a plastic surgeon who has a honed aesthetic sense, as well as excellent surgical skills. The surgeon must work diligently to locate the appropriate areas of subcutaneous fat in order to successfully sculpt and contour those areas. It is therefore of the utmost importance to select a cosmetic surgeon who has the highest credentials, a fine artistic sense and who is highly experienced in performing Liposuction.

Finally, liposuction like any other esthetic procedure involves artistic sense and talent as well as surgical skill and scientific know-how. Esthetic outcomes result from a combination of where you start from, how you heal, and what your surgeon can do. Therefore, you should understand that even though your surgeon aims for perfection, goals should be more in tune with reality.

During your consultation Dr. Younai will review your treatment options for liposuction, including pros and cons of each procedure, potential risks and complications, recovery course, pre and post operative instructions, and esthetic outcomes. There are also many before-and-after pictures and high resolution images of liposuction available in our photo gallery.