What Is Lipsuction?
Also Known As Lipoplasty or Lipectomy
Liposuction surgery sculpts your body, eliminating unwanted pockets of exercise and diet- resistant fat from the buttocks, hips, love handles, saddlebags, thighs, calves, ankles, breasts (including male breasts), back, arms and neck. Liposuction is often combined with other procedures to create a desired shape and is one of the safest and most popular cosmetic procedures. Liposuction removes fat cells from your body, and these fat cells will not grow back. However, it is important to maintain a stable weight to ensure that your new look remains optimal. If you gain a significant amount of weight in the future, your overall appearance is likely to change as your body stores excess fat in other locations and the remaining fat cells in the liposuctioned area can grow larger.
When To Consider Liposuction
Both men and women undergo liposuction every year to achieve a variety of different goals. Some patients want to look better in a swimsuit, while others want to find jeans that fit more comfortably. For men, liposuction can often successfully treat gynecomastia. Dr. Rex will often use liposuction to enhance the results of other procedures.
If one or more of the following apply to you, liposuction is an option to consider:
- If you have excess fat deposits on your hips, belly, thighs, neck or chest that won’t respond to diet or exercise. Liposuction is excellent for reducing fatty bulges and sculpting a beautifully natural contour to the body
- You feel like certain areas are out of proportion with the rest of my figure. Reducing excess fat on one area of the body can bring it into better balance with your natural features
- You have good skin elasticity – sagging skin is not a problem for me. For optimal results, the skin should have good enough tone to contract to the body’s new contours
- You are at or near my desired body weight. Liposuction is best for reducing localized fat deposits, and the most satisfied patients are typically happy with their overall weight before surgery
Recovery & Downtime
Today’s advanced liposuction techniques are designed to minimize swelling, trauma and discomfort, and recovery from liposuction can be remarkably quick. Many patients return to work 5-7 days after their procedures, depending on the physical requirements of their jobs and the extent of their procedures. Most liposuction patients will have a lifting restrictions for 1 week.
You will be given your stage one compression garment to wear for the first week following surgery. Your stage two garment will be in your patient care bag and should be worn from post-op day 7 and up to 3 months post-op for optimal results. The more you wear your garments, the better your outcome. These help minimize swelling and encourage optimal skin contraction. With proper care, scars should fade significantly over the months following surgery; in many cases, scars are barely visible after a year or so.