1. What is a successful liposuction surgery?

The goal of liposuction surgery is to remove unwanted pockets of fat which do not respond to diet and exercise. Therefore, a successful liposuction surgery is one where these pockets of excess fat are removed with minimal scars resulting in a smooth contour without an operated look.


2. What Alternatives Are There to Liposuction?

The primary alternatives to liposuction are diet and exercise. Over the past couple of decades, a variety of topical products, pills and gimmicks have been developed to compete with liposuction to provide a nonsurgical option to remove unwanted fat. Unfortunately, none of them have shown any consistent results or stood the test of time.


3. What type of liposuction is the best?

Standard liposuction using the Tumescent technique is the gold standard to which all other liposuction techniques are measured. This involves filling the area to be treated with a dilute solution of local anesthetic and epinephrine to reduce pain and bleeding during and after the procedure. It dramatically reduces blood loss with liposuction and allows for greater volumes of fat to be safely removed. Ultrasonic liposuction is a technique where the wand removing the fat (cannula) is vibrating at a very high speed which causes the fat cells to rupture prior to taking them out. This technique is effective on tough, fibrous areas where the fat is more difficult to remove such as male breasts, some abdominal fat and for areas that have been previously treated with liposuction. VASER liposuction is a form of ultrasonic liposuction and does not involve the use of a laser. It was named to rhyme with laser so people would think that it is a laser. It is an example of one of the many gimmicks associated with liposuction. Smartlipo is a form of laser liposuction which uses laser energy to dissolve fat prior to taking it out. The manufacturer claims that it is less invasive and reduces swelling, however, the laser creates an internal heat burn which generally increases swelling. They also claim that it can cause skin shrinkage but studies comparing it to standard tumescent liposuction show no difference in the skin response between the two techniques. It is interesting that most doctors who use laser liposuction are not certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.


4. How is Tumescent Liposuction performed?

Tumescent liposuction involves injecting a large volume on dilute local anesthetic and epinephrine into the area to be liposuctioned to reduce pain and bleeding. It significantly reduced the amount of blood loss with the procedure allowing larger volumes of fat to be removed safely at a single setting. Prior to the development of the tumescent technique, numerous separate procedures would be necessary to perform liposuction on several areas of the body if a significant amount of fat were to be removed.


5. How long does Tumescent Liposuction take?

The length of surgery depends on the number of areas to be treated and how much fat is to be removed. A small liposuction of the neck just under the chin could be performed under local anesthesia in an office setting and take only 20 minutes. A procedure where liposuction was to be performed on the upper arms, abdomen, hips and inner and outer thighs would be performed under general anesthesia and could take up to four hours if there was a significant volume of fat to be removed.


6. What anesthesia is used with Tumescent Liposuction?

Smaller areas of liposuction using the tumescent technique can be performed under local anesthesia with or without oral medication for sedation. Somewhat larger areas generally require more sedation with intravenous medication, epidural anesthesia or general anesthesia depending on the number and size of areas to be treated.


7. Who can perform Tumescent Liposuction?

True plastic surgeons are the only physicians who learn liposuction as part of their required surgical training. There are many untrained surgeons and actually many physicians who are not even surgeons trying to perform plastic surgical procedures such as liposuction. This can be very dangerous! Most of them only do the procedures in their office or their own surgical suite because they are not trained to perform the procedure and, therefore, cannot be credentialed to perform the operation at a hospital or legitimate surgical center. In these offices is where most of the serious complications occur. Neither the internet nor the telephone book care about your safety, the truth, adequate training or credentials. If you are going to spend money on plastic surgery, don' t take unnecessary chances. At least make sure that your surgeon is trained and experienced in plastic surgery and is not just dabbling in something in which they have no expertise.

When selecting a surgeon, at least make sure that he or she has had adequate training. Your surgeon should be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. It is the ONLY legitimate plastic surgery board. It is the only one that evaluates a surgeon' s prerequisite training, plastic surgery training, practice performance and requires passage of rigorous written and oral examinations. To find out if your surgeon is actually trained in Plastic Surgery, see if they are a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Inc. (ASPS). Visit their website at www.plasticsurgery.org or call 1-888-4PLASTIC. All members of the ASPS are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

I would also recommend that you go one step further. To make sure that your surgeon specializes in aesthetic surgery and, therefore, is not only well trained, but is also very experienced, make sure that he or she is also a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Surgeons that are members of ASAPS are all certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, members of ASPS, and have a practice that is dedicated to aesthetic surgery. Their web site is www.surgery.org and phone number is 1-888-ASAPS11.

Would you let a plumber do the electrical work on your house? Would you have a mechanic do your taxes? How about an orthopedic surgeon operate on your heart? Then why have an untrained physician, maybe not even a surgeon perform cosmetic surgery on you? If you wind up in someone' s office that doesn' t have the above credentials, don t walk but run out of that office. And forget the consultation fee. They don' t deserve to be paid for trying to deceive you.