Liposuction Surgery | Procedure | How it is done?

Liposuction surgery:

Liposuction Surgery

Do you have unwanted pockets of extra body fat tissues that just won’t go away? Though you eat consciously, exercise it out, burn calories but those bulges remain persistent. Liposuction surgery can succour your problem.

Liposuction also known as Lipoplasty or Body contouring technique, is a cosmetic procedure that removes fat that you can’t seem to get rid of through diet and exercise.

In 1975, Italian researchers Georgio and Arpad Fischer first came up with the idea of removing fat through hollow tubes attached to a suction device.

Liposuction is basically removal of fat cells in a region by mechanical trauma and suction to restore aesthetic contour with avoidance of superficial irregularity and asymmetry.

A Board Certified Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon usually does the procedure on your belly, thighs, buttocks, back, arms, or face to improve their shape. But liposuction can also be done with other Plastic Surgeries, including facelifts, breast reductions, and tummy tuck.

Balance, proportion and contour are fundamental elements of an attractive human form.

Using liposuction, a cosmetic surgeon can sculpt a better shape of almost any area of the body. It’s important to note that Liposuction is not a weight reduction therapy, not a treatment for obesity, although that is achieved as a by product for sure.

The procedure might vary for different body postures but the general process remains the same.

Procedure : Tumescent Liposuction

image 3 01Subcutaneous fat sits on top of your muscle, right underneath your skin. It’s the kind you can poke or pinch, often around your butt, hips, or thighs. This makes up a large amount of our fat stores.

Hence, most body fat is located on top of muscle tissue just beneath the subcutaneous skin.

Blood vessels supply the area with blood and nerve endings provide sensations.

The amount of fat that accumulates under the skin varies depending on inherited traits, body type and daily lifestyle pattern such as exercise and diet. So liposuction works surgically by removing excess fat with the help of a suction device.

Today varieties of liposuction techniques are available but there’s one widely used procedure that’s known as Tumescent Liposuction which uses Tumescent fluid, that is an infusion of wetting solution to achieve skin turgor, typically 3ml per 1ml of aspirate.

The word Tumescent means swollen and firm.The surgeon will first mark the targeted areas. This provides the patient and the surgeon with a clear idea that from where they’ll be removing fat deposits. They show marking to the patient in the mirror and take their agreement.

The surgeon also takes photographs of the marked area so that they can clearly see the before and after results. The next step is to numb the incision points that are going to be used to extract fat deposits.

This may be done by giving Local Anesthesia where only the surrounding area is numb or you may be given General Anesthesia for procedures involving large areas or multiple areas of the body.

Seldom it is that doctors go for Intravenous Sedation known as Monitored Anesthesia. With the incisions point numbed, Tumescent fluid would now be injected with the help of an infiltration cannula.

Some advocate pre-tunnelling, i.e. passing the cannula through the tissues to be treated without suction at first.  Tumescent fluid expands the tissues making it easier to remove fat cells and minimizes bleeding.

Once a good proportion of Tumescent fluid is injected, you’ll rest for several minutes till the area becomes completely numb.

Short incisions are made in unnoticeable areas depending on the location of liposuction.The surgeon would then insert a small tube-like apparatus called Cannula.

They pass the cannula backwards and forward, typically by 2-4mm through the fat deposit in centrifugal rays from the incision and in different planes. The cannula tip aperture remains pointed deep.

Classically liposuction addresses the deep fat plane. Care must be taken not to create skin dimpling or visible tunnel depressions. They check the fat aspirate (yellow, pink, red) and move to a new tunnel when the aspirate becomes more blood-stained.

The tunnels would collapse in a few weeks resulting into a contoured treatment area. The incisions may be closed with stitches or maybe left open applying the absorbent pads.

It is a one day procedure, 1-2 hours long. The pain, bruising, swelling after the procedure is normal would typically subside in several weeks. You’ll need to wear a compression garment for at least 6 weeks, preferably 3 months to provide support, minimize swelling and help the skin confront the new contoured area.

Though fat cells are removed permanently with preliminary measures, it is very important to note that fat cells keep on generating daily in our body. Getting Liposuction done is hence a Permanent solution if one  keeps on practising exercises and following a healthy diet.

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April 24, 2020

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