Liposuction
Liposuction or Liposculpting is the most common Aesthetic Surgery procedure done in both Women and Men. The procedure is not for weight reduction but for body contouring in relatively young, healthy patient who have good muscle tone, who eats correct or exercises but still has excess resistant fat in Lower Abdomen, Thighs, Lateral Thighs, Waist, and Arms, which are resistant to diet and exercise.
It is not a procedure of choice for women with very lax abdomen. Liposuction is often combined with other procedures (tummy tuck) to create a desired shape and is one of the safest and most popular cosmetic procedures.
Body Contouring After Weight Loss
Who is a Candidate:
Massive Weight Loss induced by Bariatric Surgery or medically managed Generally results in redundant and extra skin in Abdomen, Breast, and Arms and Thighs. These loose skin can cause problems like fungal infection in the folds, difficulty in performing activities like walking, Urinating & Sexual Activities, Embarrassment and devastating self confidence.
Obese patient comes to us asking for Liposuction as a treatment. I take this opportunity to remove then misconception and to educate the patientt about obesity & stress the importance to ensure continuing weight loss. Once they have completed their weight loss therapy and they have attained a Stable Weight, they are considered for the appropriate Body Contouring Surgery like.
- Belt Lipectomy
- Lower Body Lift
- Medial Thigh Lift
- Buttock Lift
- Arm Lift or Brachioplasty
- Breast Reshaping or Mastopexy
Arms Lift
Fluctuations in weight and growing older can cause your upper arms to have a dropping, sagging appearance. This condition cannot be corrected by exercises. The sagging skin which hangs out after massive weight loss causes problems to wear right clothes, causes embarrassment. This can be corrected by a surgical procedure known as Arm Lift.
Removing the excess skin caused by weight loss or natural aging can tighten loose skin that extends from the underarm area to the elbow; liposuction is sometimes used in combination to achieve the best results.
The procedure will be dictated by your skin quality and the extent of excess underarm fat and skin. Your surgeon will help you make the right choice based on your anatomy and preferences.
Liposuction: Arm liposuction is an option for you if your skin has enough elasticity to shrink around the remaining tissues after your fat is removed. If your skin has poor elasticity, tissue sagging will be even more pronounced after fat is removed. Liposuction may also be used as an adjunct for fat removal in a standard brachioplasty procedure.
Liposuction may also be used as an adjunct for fat removal in a standard brachioplasty procedure. Standard brachioplasty:
If your excess skin extends like a bat wing from the armpit to the elbow, the only option is complete removal of the arm flab in a standard brachioplasty.
Extended brachioplasty: An extended arm lift is similar to a standard brachioplasty, except that the incision is extended along the arm down to the body to include loose skin and fatty tissue that might be just under the arm area along the side of the chest wall. Loose skin in that area is common in patients who have had massive weight loss.
Thighs
A thigh lift is a procedure that involves the removal of excess skin and fat from either the inner or outer thighs. This is often desirable after substantial or bariatric weight loss or in individuals for whom dieting and exercise have failed to reduce excess tissue in their upper thighs. Liposuction may be used as an adjunct to the recontouring of the inner thigh. If you are committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a moderate weight, a thigh lift can help you regain the youthful thigh contours you desire.
How is a thigh lift procedure performed?
Medial (inner) thigh lift: An incision is made in the groin area, and any excess fat and skin are excised along the inner aspect of the thigh. Liposuction may be but is not always included in this procedure, depending on your individual requirements. The area from the groin to the knee is recontoured and the procedure is repeated for the other thigh. If a more substantial wedge of tissue is removed, the procedure is called a thighplasty.
Lateral (outer) thigh lift: This is a more complex procedure, usually involving recontouring of the buttocks as well as the outer thighs and removal of more tissue. Scarring is more extensive, and the skin will be less elastic after the surgery, so weight should be maintained.
Buttocks
Excess skin and fat from aging, heredity factors, or after dramatic weight loss in the gluteal area can be drastically improved with a buttock lift. Not to be confused with a “Brazilian butt lift,” which adds volume using fat transfer, this procedure involves only removing skin and fat through surgical excision and liposuction. Excess skin and fat in the gluteal area can add bulk and frustrate your efforts to achieve a slimmer, more sculpted body through weight loss.
There are many techniques and approaches, but generally:
The surgeon makes incisions from various areas. A silicone implant that is specially designed for the buttocks is inserted in the muscle to remove the excess fat and then the incisions are closed.
The results are immediately seen. Further improvement can be seen in next 3 months.
The procedure is associated with minimum risks like: anesthesia risks, infection, bleeding, numbness, chances of revision surgery.
- Your surgeon will make an incision at the top of the buttocks, in the hips, groin, or under the buttock cheeks to remove excess skin and pull the remaining skin taut.
- Liposuction may be used to further contour the buttock area or thighs to achieve a balanced look.
- Any incisions are sutured and closed in layers to ensure that the skin remains tight.
- Drains and dressings are placed and usually a compression garment or girdle is worn to reduce swelling and tighten the skin.
Buttock-lift surgery is quite extensive and will require two to three weeks of recovery before you can resume normal activities. Full healing will take several months. Being in good health, not smoking, and having help after surgery will increase the speed of healing, improve your results, and prevent complications.
- Tumescent liposuction describes a “wetting solution” with a local anesthetic, such as lidocaine and another medication in IV fluids, which is injected before surgery, causing blood vessels to shrink down or constrict. This allows liposuction to be performed with the patient under local anesthesia, minimizes blood loss and reduces postsurgical pain and bleeding.
- Suction-assisted liposuction (SAL), the most traditional form of liposuction, draws fat out with a vacuum.
- Power-assisted liposuction (PAL) is traditional SAL with the addition of a tool to increase the motion of the cannula, which speeds up fat removal.
- Ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) transmits energy through a special hand piece that helps to loosen and melt fat, enabling a greater volume of fat to be removed. This is best for larger areas, dense fat and male patients.
- VASER, a variation of UAL, is an ultrasonic cannula with several grooves that evenly disperse the energy, improving fat disruption and removal.
- Laser-assisted liposuction (LAL), such as Smartlipo and Slimlipo, is a relatively new technology. The theory is that the laser will work like ultrasound to disrupt the fat cells and make fat removal more efficient and less traumatic
- Because liposuction incisions are small, the scars are also small.
- The amount or degree of scarring depends on the surgeon’s technique and your genetic tendencies.
- Most liposuction scars fade and are barely perceptible over time.
- There are two types of marks that can remain on the skin after liposuction. One is a true scar and the other is known as dyschromia, which is a dark (hyperpigmented) or light (hypopigmented) spot on the skin.
- Education, training and certification
- Experience with liposuction surgery
- Your comfort level with him or her
In advance of your procedure, your surgeon will ask you to:
- Stop smoking before undergoing surgery to better promote healing.
- Avoid taking aspirin, certain anti-inflammatory drugs and some herbal medications that can cause increased bleeding.
- Regardless of the type of surgery to be performed, hydration is very important before and after surgery for safe recovery.
- Your comfort level with him or herIf your surgeon recommends weight benchmarks or lifestyle changes, do your best to achieve them to ensure the best results and minimize the chance of complications.
- You will receive medications to make you as comfortable as possible during the surgical procedure. General anesthesia is sometimes desirable.
- For your safety during the operation, various monitors are used to check your heart, blood pressure, pulse and the amount of oxygen circulating in your blood.
- Dr. Nageshwari will follow the surgical plan discussed with you before surgery. Once the operation has begun, she may decide to combine various techniques or change a technique to ensure the best result. It is important that you feel comfortable and trust your doctor to make these decisions.
- After surgery, you will be taken into a recovery area where you will continue to be closely monitored. You will most likely be wearing a compression garment to help “shrink” the skin.
- Drains, if they have been placed
- Normal symptoms you will experience
- Any potential signs of complications
It is crucial to maintain healthy habits and a stable weight to maintain liposuction results. Following liposuction, if you continue to eat excess calories, fat will no longer be stored in the cells that have been removed, but will be stored in other body areas.
There is no way to predict where your body will store new fat. What's more, your surgeon will not remove all the fat cells from your target area, so you could still increase the size of remaining fat cells in that area.
- Stop smoking before undergoing surgery to better promote healing.
- Avoid taking aspirin, certain anti-inflammatory drugs and some herbal medications that can cause increased bleeding.
- Regardless of the type of surgery to be performed, hydration is very important before and after surgery for safe recovery.
- Your comfort level with him or herIf your surgeon recommends weight benchmarks or lifestyle changes, do your best to achieve them to ensure the best results and minimize the chance of complications.
All surgical procedures have some degree of risk. Some of the potential complications of all surgeries are:
- Adverse reaction to anesthesia
- Hematoma or seroma (an accumulation of blood or fluid under the skin that may require removal)
- Infection and bleeding
- Changes in sensation
- Scarring
- Allergic reactions
- Damage to underlying structures
- Unsatisfactory results that may necessitate additional procedures
