Lipoaspiration or liposuction
Cosmetic Surgery - Plastic Surgery - Aesthetic Medicine - Reconstructive Surgery
Regardless of their weight, individuals may have localized fat
deposits with thickening of the layer of fat under the skin, causing
deformities in the form of "balls" or rolls of fat compared to
neighbouring areas, and modifying the body silhouette. Weight loss
generally has little influence on these fat deposits.
Lipoaspiration or liposuction is a surgical procedure that will allow
the excess fat to be aspirated and reduced. The best results are
obtained when three conditions are met: localized not diffuse excess
fat, enough skin elasticity to allow the skin fully to retract and
weight close to normal.
Liposuction does not treat excess weight or obesity. In fact, after
surgery, the total weight of the person will be only slightly changed.
However, volume removal at specific locations will transform the body
shape.
Liposuction is not a technique for weight loss or the treatment of
obesity and the ideal is to maintain a stable weight after surgery.
The principle of liposuction is to introduce, through very small
incisions, blunt cannulas with a number of holes at the end in the
areas to be treated. These very fine cannulas allow injuries to the
skin overlying the areas to be treated by liposuction to be avoided.
The cannulas are connected to a closed system in which negative
pressure is created. Through these blunt cannulas that are introduced
into the fat deposits the surgeon makes a regular network of tunnels,
preserving vessels and nerves and aspirates the excess fat. The surgeon
sculpts the fat, reducing thickness and matching the size of
surrounding areas. Fat cells or adipocytes cannot replicate, so there is
no recurrence of the overcrowding of adipocytes.
The techniques of liposuction can be applied to all parts of the body
(treatment of saddle bags, hips, abdomen, thighs, calves, ankles and
arms but also the face: double chin and face outline). It can be
combined with other surgical procedures. The qualified plastic surgeon
will assess the capacity of the skin to retract, avoiding the creation
of unwanted creases or waves by changing the unbalanced
container/thing contained ratio.
Liposuction is performed by a qualified plastic surgeon, and it is,
like any surgical procedure, performed after preoperative assessment
and consultation with an anaesthesiologist. Liposuction can be
carried out under local anaesthesia, local anaesthesia in combination
with sedatives, classic general anaesthesia or regional anaesthesia.
The period of hospitalization after liposuction is from a few hours to
24-48 hours.
Liposuction is a surgical procedure the duration of which depends on
the surgical work to be done by the plastic surgeon. Each surgeon uses
his/her own technique that is adapted to each patient so as to
achieve the best result. It takes a period of three weeks (and after
absorption of postoperative oedema) for the result to be fully
appreciated by the patient. We must wait 3 to 6 months after surgery to
allow time for healing (scars are inevitable but in the case of
liposuction are not very significant), recovery of tissue flexibility
and adaptation to the new body silhouette.
Do not forget that liposuction , performed in many cases for purely
aesthetic reasons, is a surgical procedure carrying all the risks
associated with any medical procedure (anaesthesia and surgery) even
when carried out under the most favourable circumstances, that is to
say by a qualified plastic surgeon . Without overstating the risk, a
proportion of risks exist. Turning to a qualified plastic surgeon can
prevent complications or help to treat them effectively.