LIPOSUCTION: FACTS AND MYTHS
GENETICS
Liposuction, like all cosmetic procedures, is a combination of skill and artistry. It sounds hokey, but just as each person is taught they are a snowflake in grade school, every individual requires a very personalized approach when addressing areas of fat. Now, typically speaking, many women usually tend to focus their problem areas as being the lower abdomen, flanks (the dreaded muffin top), thighs, and arms. Meanwhile, guys tend to focus on their chest and belly. Obviously, crossover does occur regarding areas; and to be perfectly honest, it all depends on how we pick our parents!
The dreaded "muffin top"
"love handles"...not so lovely
Fatty thighs...saddle bags, inner thighs, anterior thigh, and fatty knees.
AM I A CANDIDATE?
Many people will begin to notice collections of fat post baby that they just can’t get rid of. Others will turn to liposuction when they have pesky areas that just won’t disappear, no matter how much exercise and dieting they do. Still others want extra help in appearance for a wedding or class reunion coming up. Whatever the case, liposuction is a spectacular avenue to help someone on the road to the body that they envision.
JUST A TOOL
It should be emphasized that liposuction is only a tool. Specifically, it is NOT a weightloss technique. Without a doubt, one will lose weight from the procedure, but its main focus is actually to shape by removal of fat. In addition, once a person has liposuction, that area where fat is removed means that it is gone for good. However, this doesn’t mean you’re free to go and gain weight- quite the contrary! In fact, weight gain will go to other areas of your body, making it look abnormal. We encourage our liposuction patients to utilize this opportunity as a complete jumpstart to a new and healthy lifestyle. From a very positive point of view, if fat is removed by liposuction from problematic areas, this also means that calories burned by diet and exercise in the future will then be focused on other areas, rather than those where fat has been removed.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS?
STEP 1
Essentially, the way liposuction done at Total Body Surgical is a 3 step process. Though it is not commonly practiced outside of the East and West Coasts, our liposuction is usually performed with what is called the tumescent technique. It has also been termed, “lunchtime lipo”, “Smartlipo”, or “laser lipo”. Patients remain awake throughout the procedure, receiving local anesthesia in the areas of treatment. This allows the patient to communicate with the physician throughout the procedure. It also helps physicians provide great results by allowing them to easily position the patient in the best way possible to treat each area. For those that may be concerned about being awake during the procedure, patients are provided medications to assist in their relaxation and comfort.
In addition, the tumescent technique allows the patient to avoid the general anesthetic that is so hard on your health. Many times, the recovery from a surgery is not so much related to the procedure, but rather to the administration of the general anesthetic. Essentially, tumescent technique cuts your recovery time by at least 50%. Meaning, it is a quicker return to work and your daily activities (typically 3-7 days).
STEP 2
After getting the patient numb, the second step of the process begins. Many people have heard the term, “Smartlipo”, or “laser lipo”, which is essentially the utilization of a laser to melt the fat in the problematic areas being addressed. Utilization of the laser also decreases swelling, bruising, and also helps to speed recovery. This is especially true when compared to the old way that liposuction has traditionally been performed. The micro-laser is so tiny that it can contour small areas that were more difficult to treat in the past, such as upper arms and under the chin. This technique smoothes out the work done with the power-assisted micro cannulas and stimulates collagen formation which can help the skin tighten, producing a smooth final appearance to the treated areas.
STEP 3
After the fat is melted, then the fun part begins. Meaning, all of the melted fat is then gently removed by a very small suction tube. This is where inches are lost, and new waistlines are formed. The majority of the time during the procedure is spent on this stage.
Fat abdomen
Am I A Candidate?
Most importantly, you must be in good health. Ideally, not having any active diseases or significant pre-existing medical conditions is best.
Make sure you have realistic expectations of the outcome of liposuction. Open communication is absolutely imperative! You have to clearly understand what your desired results are and be able to convey this information to your surgeon. Then, discussion of your goals with your surgeon to determine what can feasibly be done to reach all or part of this goal will be essential.
Further, the elasticity of your skin plays a huge role in whether you are a good candidate. You should have good elasticity, so that your skin is able to shrink back to its former tightness once the fat is removed. As we get older, have babies, and yo-yo diet, our skin loses its elastic property. Think of it this way: if you took a brand new pair of underwear out of the package and stretched out the elastic waistband for 2 hours, then let it go, it wouldn’t snap back to the way it was when you took it out of the package brand new, would it? Our skin is much the same. In addition regarding your skin, if you had a 10 pound sack of potatoes and you took out 8 pounds, you’d have quite a lot of sack left over, right? Obviously, we want that sack to shrink up. Analogously, when you take a large amount of fat out of an area, you’ll have the tendency to have extra skin. This is where using the laser comes into play. Utilizing the laser (remember stage 2 of the procedure) optimizes the chances that this will happen. However, the overwhelming factor of whether or not this skin will shrink back is by far and away your genetics. How we picked our parents plays a huge roll in this life! The presence of stretch marks is a flashing neon sign that your skin is not what it used to be, and may not shrink up as tight as it would have when you were 18. However, many patients really just desire to look better in clothes. Having extra skin after removal of fat will not effect this. Again, discussion of realistic expectations between you and your surgeon is a must!
To have that discussion at no charge to you, call 918-786-7780 today!! We can help and Cosmetic appointments are complimentary!!