LIPOSUCTION
Liposuction operation improves the lines of your body and your body’s proportion by removing excess fat in different areas of the body. Liposuction makes you thinner, reshapes your body and increases your satisfaction with it.
Success in Liposuction
Liposuction surgery may seem easy as a concept but similar to all other operations, it is in fact quite a detailed procedure. A qualified surgeon is well-educated in every topic related to liposuction surgery, and can explain to you as detailed as you wish.
Am I a good candidate for liposuction?
The most suitable candidates for this operation are people who have average or a little over average weight, healthy and who have regional fat that do not disappear with diet and exercise. Liposuction is not an effective treatment for patients who have cellulite or loose, sagging skin.
Liposuction is a surgical operation and includes risks. Because of that, you should be healthy to be able to have liposuction.
Doctors do not advise those who have problems with blood flow, heart disease or diabetes or a weak immune system to have a liposuction.
Prior to the Operation
There are a few steps patients can follow to minimize the discomfort after operation and decrease risks of complication prior to the operation.
Examination
You will have a conversation with your doctor for the detailed plan of the surgery prior to the operation. During the conversation, you will talk about the procedure, risks, side effects and the things you should do before the surgery. Your doctor will inform you about topics such as the type of anesthesia that will be used, the cost of the operation and the medicine you should take beforehand.
Treatment Plan
Your doctor will explain to you the different liposuction procedures, and you will together decide the one that suits your needs and aims the best. Explain the result you aim to your doctor as detailed as possible, so that your doctor can create the most suitable treatment plan for you and you can gain the maximum effect from the treatment.
Determination of Risks
In order to determine the risks of liposuction for you, you will talk about your health history and lifestyle. Your doctor will ask you about the medicine you are using, whether you smoke or not and whether you have any kind of health problem. It is crucial for the operation that you are completely honest to your doctor.
Liposuction Operation Processes
Liposuction procedure may seem easy as a concept, but it is in fact a quite detailed procedure just like any other surgeries. A qualified surgeon is well educated when it comes to everything about liposuction procedure, and can explain the procedure to you as detailed as you wished. Of course, every procedure changes depending on the area on which the treatment is performed and the type of liposuction that is applied. However, every procedure is performed on the same bases.
Anesthesia
Liposuction can be performed with local or general anesthesia. The term anesthesia means “painless”. In most liposuction techniques, a solution including anesthesia medicine is applied on the operated area. For a local anesthesia, the surgeon only numbs the operated area, and you will be awake during the operation. In general anesthesia, you will be asleep during the operation thanks to the anesthesia medicine that is given in gas form or via injection.
Making the Cuts
After the anesthesia is applied (and in certain cases, liquid injection is made), the next phase is to make small cuts in the area where the fat will be removed. These cuts are generally very small.
Removing the Fat
Then, your surgeon will place a thin vacuum tube (cannula) through the cut towards the fat layer deep inside. Your surgeon will move the cannula forward and backward to break the fat into pieces, and pull the fat outside with the help of an injector or a vacuum pump. Because a significant amount of blood and other bodily fluids will be taken as well, fluid will be given through the vain during and after the operation. Of course, this part of the procedure may slightly change depending on the type of liposuction that is applied.
Closing the Cuts
Depending on the surgeon’s preference, cuts may be left open or they may be closed with a few stitches. Some doctors prefer not to close the cuts to decrease bruising and swelling that may occur during liposuction.
After the Operation
Recovery after liposuction may take between a few days up to a few months depending on the size of the area where the procedure was performed and the type of the performed liposuction
First Few Weeks
Doctors suggests patients to wear compression clothes at least during the first weeks to accelerate healing process. A few weeks later, many patients start to feel comfortable enough to take off compression clothes.
Some patients feel pain in the day after liposuction operation. This discomfort is usually mild, and can be eased with painkillers and medium-level walking. A little bit before a week, most of the patients can move and walk normally, in fact they can go back to work with mild discomfort. Patients should shower instead of taking baths in the first week after surgery. In this period, swelling, bruising and numbness start to disappear.
The anesthetic solution used during the operation leaks through the cut areas for a few days after liposuction. This is normal. Besides, it helps recovery and decreases the recovery period.
Swelling that Lasts in the First Few Months
Swelling keeps going down during the few months after the surgery. As the swelling decreases, the permanent results of the treatment start to appear. If the treated area is big, recovery takes longer. As well as swelling, the skin on the treated area may seem loose, but it tightens over time. The skin goes back to normal depending on the flexibility of the skin (this depends on age and genetics).
Patients should keep monitoring the areas that were cut in case of infection risk, and they should set control appointments with the surgeon for the monitoring of recovery period. Excess swelling can sometimes be an indicator of other risks or side effects. Because of that, it is crucial that you are in contact with your doctor to make sure everything is going well.
Exercising after Liposuction
You should consult your surgeon before you start exercising. Many aesthetic surgeons encourage their patients to start doing a light walking routine within 3-4 days after liposuction. Light exercise helps prevent clot formation in legs and other complications that may occur after the surgery.
Patients can usually start increasing their level of activity within 2 weeks following liposuction. However, it is necessary to avoid heavy exercising for at least a month in order to give the body enough time to recover.
Results
The definite results of liposuction surgery become visible in a few months after surgery. Liposuction is performed to shape the body, it is not an option for weight loss. Excess fat which is not possible to get rid of through diet and exercise can be treated efficiently with liposuction.
First Results
The result of liposuction are noticeable to some degree right after the operation. The results may be inadequate at first. This is normal because swelling and bruising overshadow the result. Besides, the skin on which the treatment is performed may seem loose, it takes time for the body to adapt its new shape. Many surgeons ask the patients to wear compression clothing so that it would help the recovery process. Wearing compression clothing helps decrease the long term effect of swelling, bruising and scars after liposuction.
Definite Results
It takes 1-3 months until swelling and bruising disappears, and up to 6 months until the skin on the area where fat is removed is lifted. Definite results of liposuction will be visible 3 months after the surgery. After the recovery period, you will have a body more in shape and a younger appearance. The results are not the same for everybody but many patients experience a serious increase in their confidence after liposuction.
The benefits of liposuction are not only limited to aesthetics. Liposuction can be the first step of a healthier, more active lifestyle. Many patients start to be careful about their diet and exercising to protect the results of liposuction. The results of the operation can be permanent for years with the correct care.
Protection of Results
Even though liposuction is a great way to get the excess fat in certain parts of the body away, removal of fat cells from the body doesn’t mean that you will not gain weight in the future. The cells taken away by liposuction do not form again. However, patients who undergo liposuction surgery are more prone to experience weight issues on the parts of their body where they didn’t have weight issues before if they do not make changes in their exercising and eating routines.