Who is a good candidate for liposuction?

Patients who are the best candidates for liposuction are generally younger patients with good skin elasticity and small bulging areas of fat. Liposuction is NOT a weight loss procedure. It is a body sculpting procedure designed to eliminate unsightly bulges. With newer technology, including SmartLipo and SlimLipo which help with skin contraction, even older patients are now good candidates for liposuction.

What is liposuction?

Liposuction, or liposculpture as it is sometimes called, is the removal of fat in unwanted areas to provide a slimmer, sleeker appearance. While fat may appear anywhere in the body, the most common areas where women accumulate fat is in the hips, thighs, and lower abdomen. Men tend to get "love handles." Lesser areas include the back, the neck under the chin, and arms. All of these are good areas for liposuction.

What are the risks associated with liposuction surgery?

With newer innovations in liposuction, bruising and bleeding are greatly reduced risks. Still, there may be some bruising afterwards, particularly in the thighs. Bruising will go away as long as the patient does not sit poolside or in a tanning bed thus "cooking in" that discoloration. Another potential risk following liposuction is the possibility of residual pockets of fat or areas where too much fat was removed. These areas may produce skin surface irregularities that may require a secondary procedure to correct. Infections associated with liposuction are very rare. Significant scarring is also rare since very tiny incisions are used.

Who is not a good candidate for liposuction?

Liposuction is a good procedure for patients desiring to eliminate pockets of fat or unsightly bulges. It is NOT intended as a weight loss technique.

What technique will the surgeon use to perform the liposuction?

Most plastic surgeons tend to mark the areas that contain the fat prior to surgery. They then make small incisions in the skin under local anesthesia or with the patient asleep. Through these incisions, tumescent solution (saltwater with medicine mixed in to minimize pain as well as bruising/bleeding) is then injected into the marked areas. In traditional liposuction, various thin, pencil-like instruments are then inserted through the incisions and used to suction out the fat. Newer innovations in liposuction include Vaser (ultrasonic) liposuction, or SmartLipo/SlimLipo (laser) liposuction. These technologies may be used to treat the fat prior to its removal in order to break down the fat cells for easier and more uniform removal. The added step may increase the costs of liposuction, however. After removal of the fat, the incisions are generally closed using absorbable stitches that do not have to be removed later. The patient is placed in a compression garment to wear for a period of time after the procedure.