Lipoplasty or liposuction

Do you experience feelings of depression? Especially when looking at yourself in the mirror? However, if we listen to what the cosmetic surgeons tell us then we will know that we are not alone. Their claim is that there has been a rise in the need for cosmetic surgery due to popular reality TV shows like “Extreme Makeover”? Perhaps you are one of the many who wish they could look better. Can you take a look at yourself in the mirror? What do you see? Flabby thighs, sagging chin or tubby tummy? If this describes you, then perhaps you need to be one of those who should undertake liposuction.

In the medical field, liposuction is also referred to as lipoplasty or “lipo”. This is the procedure where the doctor surgically takes off excess fat from different parts of the body. It sounds like a painful process. The instrument used for this operation is a hollow stainless steel tube called a cannula which is connected to a vacuum. This is then put inside the skin through an incision, and then the fat deposits are gently sucked out of the body.

A 28 year old patient Mary Phillips who has gone through the procedure describes it as painless. A mother of two, she decided that she would go for the lipo procedure so that her stomach can look like it was before she gave birth. According to her Ï tried so hard through exercise and diet to achieve weight loss. But nothing I tried would work”. This method of removing fat through surgical process has grown in popularity because it quickly eliminates the excess fat from those parts of the body that give us much concern such as abdomen, hips, butt, thighs, chin, neck, back, chest and arms. Even some doctors have been able to perform the process on knees, calves and ankles. Therefore, liposuction is able to rid you of excess fat from just about any part of your body.

Of course, some may shudder at how painful this process will be but it all depends on your individual situation. Using local or general anesthesia is able to take away most of the pain; even a heavy IV sedation can be used. For doctors, they see this procedure as a simple and mild operation.  With the recent advance in medicine, there has been a lot of innovative ways in which the pain can be avoided, because doctors can simple go straight to those fat areas in question thereby making the time for recovery faster. In fact lipo is not new at all as it has been around for over a decade. 70 years old James Anderson had his first liposuction in 1992 so that he could reduce the signs of aging from his face. This grandfather of three also went ahead to have an additional three procedures since then and he laughs “People now confuse my son with being my brother. I don’t know if that’s good for him or bad”.

But the question you may now be asking yourself is if you should really undergo liposuction. Some are willing to go through the procedure if they have the greenbacks. However, besides being able to afford it, you should also want to consider the expertise and qualification of the surgeon, as well as their track record.

There is some risk involved in liposuction, even due to doctor’s error. It is advisable that you are well informed about the problem so that you can easily identify any problem that may occur and prevent it. One thing you should take note of is the disfiguring skin irregularities that are likely to occur if too much fat is taken away in one procedure. Similarly, the result of the procedure can be affected if the cannula used is large.

Even though fat is quickly removed by using large cannulas, they are able to cause skin irregularities more easily than using small cannulas. The diameters of the small cannulas are smaller than 3 millimeters.  The type of cannula to be used depends on how much fat you want to remove. For the Tumescent Procedure, surgeons will rather use the small cannula. This method has been proven to be the safest method by the American Medical Association. The local anesthesia that is used is known to last long enough so that there will be less need for narcotic pain relief. Doctors have claimed that this method has not caused any death. The Tumescent Procedure is actually safe even when the fat removal is not much when used with general anesthesia.

The Tumescent Procedure can also be used in another surgical procedure by using local and general anesthesia with IV sedation. This is a slight different version, and could be a bit dangerous hence the need for an anesthesiologist to be present.

Another factor to consider is that you are not scheduled for any other surgery on the same day you are having your liposuction. Being exposed to anesthesia for a long time can be dangerous to your health. Also, taking away too much fat is likely to cause severe complications. However, it is possible for you to heal quickly since liposuction has seen a lot of advances.

The time it takes for you to recover from liposuction is a lot shorter today than it used to be decades ago. After surgery, it is possible for you to recover fully within four weeks. Even though there might be some small amount of anesthetic in your system, this is drawn into your blood stream. You are likely to heal faster when the anesthetic is drained out of your incision. The swelling and bruising will also be reduced.

Also when the sutures are left open, it allows draining to be faster. One way of ensuring that drainage occurs is for the surgeon to make small holes in your skin. On your part, using spandex clothes will also cause more drainage. The absorptive pads used to cover the incisions can also cause drainage.