Liposuction

What is liposuction?

Liposuction is a technique originally developed in France in which fatty deposits from your body are removed through hollow cannula via suction.

Which areas can it treat?

The most commonly treated areas are:

• The neck
• For excess tissue in men and women in the breast and chest area
• The tummy and flanks
• The thighs
• The knee and lower leg areas

What does liposuction involve?

There are a number of different types of liposuction. When liposuction was first developed, the Dry Technique was favoured:

• In this, no fluid was placed in the fatty tissue
• This resulted in more bruising and swelling following surgery

Since then, surgeons have developed a technique using more and more Fluid:

• To help dissolve the fatty tissue
• To help reduce bruising and swelling after your surgery

Listing these techniques in order of how much fluid is inserted in the area:

• Tumescent Liposuction uses the most fluid
• Super-wet Liposuction and
• Wet Liposuction use slightly less fluid

Tumescent liposuction

The advantage of Tumescent Liposuction is that fluid which contains local anaesthetic and adrenaline reduces pain and bruising during and after the procedure In most cases, Tumescent Liposuction is performed under local anaesthetic

More modern types of Liposuction have been developed in recent years to help improve the efficiency of fat removal. These include:

Vaser liposuction

• In this procedure, ultra-sound energy is used to help dissolve the fatty cells which are then removed via Liposuction

Power-assisted liposuction

• A vibrating Liposuction cannula is used to draw up the fatty cells and make them easier to remove

Water-assisted liposuction

• Water jets are again used to dissolve the fatty tissue and make it easier to remove

Smart liposuction

• Ultrasound energy is used to help disrupt the fatty tissue

The most important thing to consider with Liposuction is that each of the different techniques still depends very much on the surgeon performing them. The most crucial factor is that the surgeon is experienced in Liposuction and removes the correct amount of fat from the correct area. The different types of Liposuction are essentially different types of equipment the surgeon can use to achieve this aim.

Your procedure

You will have a pre-operative consultation with your surgeon to discuss the areas which concern you. Your surgeon should frankly explain the pros and cons of surgery and the results you are likely to obtain.

It is important to remember that liposuction is not a remedy for being overweight and should not generally be performed on people with a Body Mass Index of over 30. You can assess you Body Mass Index by dividing your weight in kilograms over your height in centimetres squared.

Your consultation with your surgeon should include being able to see before and after pictures of patients they have treated and a discussion of possible complications that can occur following surgery. Surgery is normally performed under local anaesthetic (milder sedation) which allows your surgeon to move you around slightly and see the areas which concern you from different angles.

Your surgeon will normally access the fatty tissue in each area by 2-3 incisions to allow them to remove it in an even way from different angles. These incisions are not usually stitched and some of the fluid injected into the area to dissolve the fat may leak through them in the hours following surgery. This is normal and will serve to reduce swelling in the long-term.

At the end of the procedure you are normally fitted with a compression garment which gently supports the areas that have been treated and reduces swelling and bruising. We recommend that you do refrain from any strenuous activities for the week following treatment, at which point we will review you in the Dressings Clinic and check that you are healing well.

Some swelling and bruising is likely to remain for some weeks. We will see you 6 weeks following your operation to take your post-operative photographs. It is important to remember that some swelling will still be present at this stage but will subsequently settle with time.

Your results

Overall, liposuction is a very good technique for removing relatively small areas of fatty tissue, providing your Body Mass Index is under 30. We are born with a certain amount of fat cells in each region:

• when you put weight on, these fat cells swell
• you do not increase the number of fat cells when you put on weight

By your surgeon removing a number of these fat cells, you are likely to have a permanent reduction in an area It is important to remember that, if you do put on weight again, the remaining fat cells can once again swell. It is therefore best to maintain a steady and healthy weight after liposuction in order to prevent the areas of excess fat recurring.