Liposuction

Liposuction is one of the three most popular cosmetic surgery procedures, along with breast enlargement and removal of bags under the eyes. But liposuction is not to be taken lightly. You should investigate the implications before going ahead.

The number of obese people in the UK increases all the time, and with magazines full of tall, thin models many women are tempted to strive for that kind of slender perfection.
Not satisfied with dieting, you may be tempted to turn to a surgeon to give you a flat stomach and slim thighs. Liposuction may sound like a minor procedure but there are risks involved.

What is liposuction?

Liposuction is a way of removing fat from areas of the body such as hips, thighs, buttocks, chin and male breasts. It was designed, not as a cure for obesity, but to remove pads of fat that don’t respond to diet and exercise.

How liposuction is performed?

1. Liposuction is not a gentle procedure. Initially, a cold salt solution, which also contains adrenaline, a local anaesthetic and a chemical to break down fat cells, is injected into the fatty area of your body.
2. Next, a large, hollow needle, usually about 3mm in diameter, attached to a powerful
   suction machine, is inserted through several small cuts in the skin. It is passed into pockets of fat, where it is moved around with considerable force. Fat is quite solid, and it needs some liquidizing to be sucked into the draining tube. The saline solution helps to loosen and liquidize the fat.
3. It’s dangerous to remove too much fat. All body fluids are in equilibrium and the body responds to loss of fat as it does to loss of A wide range of cosmetic operations is now available to improve features such as brows, eyelids, chin and lips, and to reduce fat on buttocks and stomach.

Blood: if too much fat is removed, you’ll go into surgical shock with very low blood pressure.

Recovery

There can be considerable discomfort and stiffness after the operation and the wider the needle used, the worse the pain and the longer it lasts. You can expect to resume normal activities within two to three days for minor liposuction, but it may take up to two or three weeks after major fat removal.

The operation can cause severe bruising so, to minimize this, special elasticated garments that compress the skin must be worn for two to three weeks after the operation to help skin contraction and support the operation site to prevent fluid collecting.

Side effects

Liposuction results do vary. The procedure works best on women under 40, whose skin is elastic and springs back into shape relatively easily. Older women can be left with unsightly sags and folds. If too much fat is removed from one place, or if it’s removed unevenly, ridges and dimples are the result. Common complaints are stretched skin not shrinking back to its former size, numbness in muscles surrounding the area operated on and uneven fat leaving lumps.