Ultrasnoic Liposuction
Who is a good candidate for liposuction?
In the past, we considered only patients under 30 years old with good skin elasticity to be good candidates. Now, pretty much anyone with good skin elasticity may be a good candidate. If the patient has too much excess skin, however, removing the fat may only create more hanging excess skin. In these cases, surgery to remove the excess skin might be a better idea. For example, a little fat in the abdomen can easily be removed with liposuction. If there is hanging loose skin in the abdomen, however, a tummy tuck might be a more appropriate operation.
What is liposuction?
We are born with a certain amount of fat cells in our bodies. These are basically little storage containers for fat as we grow and gain and lose weight. The total number of fat cells remains about the same throughout our lives. Women tend to store fat in their hips, thighs, and abdomen while men tend to get "love handles. " These are areas where diet and exercise don t do much but liposuction can help. Traditionally, we mark the area that is to be treated. Through tiny puncture sites in the skin, we can then flood the marked area with what is called tumescent solution - basically, salt-water with some medicine mixed in to make the blood vessels clamp down and minimize blood loss during the procedure. This can be done with the patient awake or asleep. Personally, I prefer to put patients to sleep for this procedure. I feel that I can get a lot more aggressive and get more fat out when patients are asleep and I know I am not going to hurt them. After the tumescent solution is injected, thin pencil-like instruments which have a hole in one end and are hooked up to a suction machine on the other are inserted through the same puncture sites and used to suction out the fat in the marked area. This is traditional liposuction which is essentially a two step procedure - pump in the tumescent solution and suck out the fat. Newer innovations include a third step in the process whereby ultrasound (Vaser) or a laser (SmartLipo or SlimLipo) are used to liquify the fat, making it easier to remove. The heat from the tip of the laser with SmartLipo or SlimLipo also heats up the undersurface of the skin creating greater skin tightening.
