Liposuction surgery, sometimes referred to as body contouring, is a procedure to remove localised fat deposits from the body, and is not aimed at people who want to lose weight generally. Liposuction surgery (or lipoplasty) 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. People undergo this 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’s needed. Several areas can be done during one lipo suction operation, and the procedure can be performed in conjunction with other cosmetic surgery. Liposuction can also be used to reduce breast size in men suffering from gynecomastia, or can be performed to remove fat tumours (lipomas) in both men and women.
There are several alternative techniques in the way surgeons perform liposuction surgery, but in all cases undesirable fat deposits are sucked out using a cannula (hollow metal needle or tube) after having first been broken up. Lipoplasty can be done with ultrasonic or laser equipment, or using tumescent, wet, super wet, dry, or power assisted methods. Your lipo suction surgeon will discuss the different techniques with you and will be able to advise you of the recommended way for treating various parts of the body. Reading this guide will give you broad information about liposuction, but for more details on your individual case please consult your surgeon.
Best lipo suction results are achieved while the skin remains elastic, so that when fat is removed it will adjust smoothly to fit the new shape of the body without sagging. In older patients skin may not necessarily recover to a fluid contour and a skin tightening procedure may be necessary.
