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Liposuction for Fat Removal

For many years, liposuction has been one of the most popular types of plastic surgery for patients hoping to change their physical appearance. But while that various types of liposuction have been around for a while, they are still medical procedures with potential risks and therefore require careful research and consideration.

In this article, we will explain liposuction from many angles. We will talk about the different types of liposuction that are available these days, how these procedures work, the various risks associated with them, the average cost of liposuction and more.

Let's start with the basics.

What Is Liposuction Anyway?

Liposuction is a surgical procedure used to remove small areas of fat that don't respond to diet and exercise, as well as improve your body's shape. The areas most commonly treated include the hips, abdomen, thighs and buttocks and face. Liposuction does not remove cellulite, only fat.

Those considering liposuction should have realistic expectations about the results of this procedure. The ideal patient has the following qualities:

Average or slightly above-average weight
Firm, elastic skin
In good health overall
Fatty areas that do not respond well to diet and exercise

How Does It Work

The process of liposuction essentially works like this. The doctor makes a small incision on the patient in the area to be targeted (thighs, belly, etc.). The doctor will then insert a stainless steel tube through the incision area. This tube is known as a cannula. It gets inserted into the deep fat layer of the body. Then the doctor pushes and pulls the cannula tube through this layer, breaking up fat cells and sucking the fat up the tube with a vacuum.

For many years, this is how the basic process of liposuction has worked. More recently, however, technological advancements have added variations to this basic procedure. As a result, patients have more types of liposuction to choose from today than they did a few years ago.

For example, a new technique known as power liposuction automates the "push-and-pull" technique doctors use to break up the fat cells. There have been other advancements in this area as well.

Two Primary Types of Liposuction

If you are considering this type of procedure to remove fat from an area of your body, it's important to understand the two main types of liposuction and how they work. Here's a brief overview:

Tumescent liposuction -- This is the original procedure through which a tumescent fluid (saline solution plus local anesthetic) is inserted into fatty tissue in the area of focus. Then the vacuum tube is used as described earlier. The injection of the tumescent solution can be painful, but overall this procedure is recognized for minimizing discomfort during and after the procedure itself.
Ultrasound liposuction -- This type of procedure uses ultrasound (high-pitched sounds) to loosen the fat in the area of focus. This allows the fat to be suctioned out of the body easier and faster than with other methods.

In addition to these primary types of liposuction procedures, there are many derivative forms of the procedure. Each has its own set of pros and cons, and some doctors prefer one type of liposuction to another for various reasons. The important thing is to ask your doctor which type of procedure he or she uses, and then learn everything you can about that particular process.

The Risks Associated With Liposuction

All medical procedures have risks associated with them, and liposuction is no different. After reading the descriptions of the various procedures explained above, you can clearly see that there is the potential for harm. So let's talk about the various liposuction risks and what to know about them.

Infections - Any time you make incisions and insert things into the body, there is a risk of infection. So as you might imagine, this is a potential risk of all liposuction procedures. For this reason, some doctors (but not all) will prescribe antibiotics to their patients after the procedure. Ask your doctor about this possible liposuction risk and what he or she does to mange it.
Embolism - This is when an artery becomes blocked by a clot, a piece of tissue, a foreign object of some kind, or even an air bubble. This condition may occur when fatty tissue (set free by the liposuction process) enters the blood stream through ruptured vessels. Depending on where the embolism occurs, it can lead to a number of serious conditions and may even be fatal. Therefore, it is a serious risk of liposuction you should discuss with your doctor.
Complications from Anesthesia - Anytime you deal with anesthesia (even the local kind used during liposuction), you encounter certain risks. Lidocaine is the local anesthetic that's commonly used in liposuction procedures. Large volumes of this liquid can cause a range of problems in the body and, in serious cases, could even stop the heart. While occurences of this are rare, it is still a legitimate liposuction risk that's worth researching further.
Puncture Wounds in Organs - In our procedural review of liposuction we explained that the doctor uses a probe / tube to suck out fatty tissue from the patient. During this process, however, the doctor cannot see where the probe is going. So there is a risk that it could puncture or "perforate" an internal organ near the area being targeted (such as the intestine during abdominal liposuction procedures). Ask your doctor what he or she does to minimize this risk.
Fatalities Related to Liposuction - Depending on the various studies published about the risks of liposuction procedures, you will encounter different estimates relating to deaths from the procedure. These numbers vary from 20 deaths per 100,000 patients (1 in 5,000) upward to 100 deaths per 100,000 patients (or 1 in 1,000).

The Cost of These Procedures

Unless you can justify that your liposuction procedure is for health reasons (and not for cosmetic reasons), there's a good chance you'll pay for the procedure out of pocket. Obviously, this makes liposuction cost a chief concern for anyone considering it.

In general, the total cost of liposuction is based on the area of the body the procedure is being performed and the credentials and geographical locations of the physician performing the procedure. In other words, the type of procedure you have, the experience of the doctor, and the city you live in will all have an impact on the overall cost of your liposuction procedure.

For example, a less experienced surgeon may perform liposuction on the outer thighs for $1,600, while the same procedure performed by an expert surgeon may cost $5000. The best plan is to conduct plenty of research and get written estimates in advance.

Conclusion and Summary

We hope you have found our guide to liposuction informative and helpful, but we also urge you to conduct further research into the subject before making any final decisions. It's also important to acquire bits of knowledge from lots of different sources. Only then will you have an objective, well-rounded understanding of liposuction.

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