Cosmetic Surgery Liposuction FAQ: Part 1

1: I’m new to all this. What is “Liposuction”?

Liposuction surgery is a cosmetic enhancement surgery designed to remove specific areas of fat deposits from the human body. It is most often performed by cosmetic surgeons, as well as properly licensed dermatologists in the US.

Although liposuction is the most common name, the procedure is also known as body sculpting, lipoplasty, body contouring, tummy tuck (refers to the specific region of the stomach), tumescent liposuction (a specific technique of fat removal using the latest technology), among other names. There are also many misspellings or incorrect uses of the procedure, including but not limited to lipo suction, lipo sucktion, lipo surgery, lipo sculpture, new lipo, and others.

More information about liposuction procedure can be found at the FDA’s website here as well as on Wikipedia’s entry.

2: I am considering Liposuction. What things should I be thinking about in my decision?

Good question. First, a caveat: liposuction is not a cure-all solution. Most cosmetic surgeons maintain that liposuction surgery is ideal for people who maintain a steady body weight, are close to their ideal, but unable to shift certain pockets of fat with diet or exercise.

In other words, if you are already exercising regularly and have lost significant weight based on a fundamentally healthier diet, liposuction can be a great procedure to eliminate the fat pockets that are otherwise not erasable before this technology was available to surgeons.

Most people undergo lipoplasty operation if they want to make small adjustments to achieve a certain contour or body shape. The most popular areas are abdominal liposuction, facial, neck, thigh and chin liposuction, but it can also be performed on the backs of the knees, hips, the back, arms, calves, or any other parts of the body where it is needed.

Several areas can be done during one liposuction operation depending on the amount of fat that is removed. The procedure can also be performed in conjunction with other cosmetic surgery to save on operating room and anesthesia costs.

It is always important to plan for realistic expectations that are parallel to your own research and the communication with your doctor. Multiple treatments of lipoplasty can occur time with a workout plan that can reach the patient’s ideal look in body contouring.

It is important to remember that although liposuction eliminates some effects, the procedure itself is “cosmetic”, in the sense that it does not address original causes of fat deposits. These originally link back to genetics, health and diet, lifestyle and a person’s general mentality towards a healthy life.

3: Are the Before and After pictures always accurate?

There are many before and after pictures of liposuction patients online and we have extensively browsed through most of the ones that are available. There appears to be 3 types of before and after pictures:

1. The “model-like and cleaned up” pictures that are usually not real and expresses the ideal result. These pictures are great for articulating the value and benefits of liposuction. They also usually are designed to accommodate a plastic surgeon’s website and aesthetic theme. Keep in mind that these pictures are:

• Idealistic and are often brushed up via imaging software
• Not real / i.e. not realistic for the results you are expecting
• Sometimes, if can be misleading or unrealistic as models tend to have genetically enhanced bone structures in the first place, which is unattainable via liposuction

2. The “too real” pictures. These are the pictures with patients that have noticeably amounts of fat, and/or are of older age and therefore these pictures at first appear unpleasing to the eye. Remember that these picture tend to be

• Too real and leaves little to the imagination
• Usually has bad lighting and may be a very bad representation of an otherwise decent body
• May not apply to the majority of normal people who just need some weight removed
• The value proposition for these types of procedures is different. It is “Can I do liposuction and stop looking ugly”, versus “I need liposuction to bring myself to a 9 or 10”. The

3. Exceptionally well done cases:

a) Patient was not too fat, actually slightly physically attractive and has a lot of aesthetic potential

b) Patient needed the procedure to enhance the look from a 7 to a 10, rather than 4 to a 7

c) Surgeon was able to contour symmetrically and results are pleasing to the eye

d) The recovery looks like it was smooth; the skin is tight and overall appears very healthy

The most realistic pictures usually come from the doctor’s office websites, which often times can be local in nature. Be sure to search for “liposuction: your local city” to find these types of regional sites.

Right-arm Liposuction Before Operation】

【Right-arm Liposuction After Operation】

【Left-arm Liposuction Before Operation】

【Left-arm Liposuction After Operation】

4: Are there big ethnic differences in lipoplasty depending on demographics?

There is, but not because of the fat. The skin type largely affects the degree of healing on the injuries made by opening entrance marks for liposuction to be performed. For more information on this topic, the following articles will help:

1. Cultural and ethnic differences in the acceptance or rejection of liposuction instrumentation entrance marks by a plastic surgeon
2. Plastic surgery for ethnic patients from plasticsurgery.org
3. Information on ethnic skin on discovery health

5: What do the different techniques mean? I don’t get it

There are several alternative techniques in the way surgeons perform liposuction surgery.

In all these techniques, the undesirable fat deposits are sucked out using a cannula (hollow metal needle or tube) after having first been broken up. Lipoplasty can also be done with ultrasonic or laser equipment, or using tumescent, wet, super wet, dry, or power assisted methods. Different methods and instruments are used for different parts of the body, and your plastic surgeon will be able to go into more detail on this. For a full breakdown of the techniques see the techniques page.