Liposuction
- Liposuction, also known as “Lipo” is a fat removal procedure that uses a suction technique to remove fat from specific areas of the body such as the abdomen, hips, thighs, arms, neck or butt.
- Liposuction is the most popular surgical procedure, which aids in the removal of unwanted and localized fat from different areas of body using fine cannulae connected to a specialized vaccum suction machine. Find more about the procedures, post op care to maintain the shape, and liposuction cost.
- It is helpful in removal of fat from various body parts like the abdomen,flanks, hips, inner thighs, back, and upper arms and aids in achieving better contouring of these areas.
- For men, liposuction can often successfully treat gynecomastia and other fat areas around their torso, while women use it more commonly around the tummy, hips and thighs. Tummy tuck, Gynecomastia, six-pack surgery can be performed with liposuction.
Ideal situations for liposuction:
- Localized fat bulges on specific body areas which are exercise and diet resistant.
- Minimal fat excess with good skin elasticity.
- If one likes to have more definition in specific body parts.
- Physically fit with not more than 10 kg of excessive body weight, BMI within 3-4 digits of your ideal BMI.
- Patient in good health and positive attitude with realistic expectations.
Who may not be the right candidate for liposuction:
- If you are planning to lose or gain a significant amount of weight, this isn’t the time for liposuction.
- If you have cellulite and very loose skin, liposuction mayn’t give satisfactory results.
- There are some other procedures recommended to address these issues.
- Over weight—if BMI > 35, you are a better candidate for bariatric surgery, rather than liposuction.
- Liposuction isn’t a primary modality for weight loss, and it isn’t a substitute for proper diet and regular exercise.
Liposuction enhances your efforts to improve your body shape further and gives inch loss. It is essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle with diet and exercise to prolong the results of liposuction.
At the time of consultation:
- Surgeons will examine you thoroughly and evaluate the areas of fat that needs to be addressed, desired amount of fat to be removed, any negative areas of body which shouldn’t be liposuctioned, any scars, sites of incision placement, and also the quality of skin.
- Surgeons will tailor an individualized treatment plan that lists the areas to address, as well as the desired amount of fat to be removed. Your specific body areas may be photographed for documentation purpose.
To know more about liposuction procedure and FAQs
There are few more things one should know if one wants to opt for liposuction:
It depends on your lifestyle. If one maintains healthy lifestyle, eat healthy combined with phsycial exercises , the shape can be maintained. After post operative care period, once you get the desired shape , it is not advised to be casual about it and go without a proper healthy diet and exercise. This causes the fat to come back, and it may be difficult to get in shape again. So it is advised to eat healthy with adequate phsycial activity one can definitely maintain the shape.
- A plastic surgeon will allow only the required amount of fat that can be removed by liposuction, considering safety first. Liposuction is also to maintain a lifestyle, and a safe procedure plays a significant role. The surgeon will not remove excess fat given the consultations and tests that suggest the exact amount of fat be removed. So an ethical surgeon with experience will remove what is necessary, keeping safety and procedure in mind. Each patient is different. According to the consultations and tests, the surgeon will advise the amount of fat to remove.
- On the average for 65kgs , 5-6% fo the body weight can be removed. This is the safe physiological limit. This is less risky and safe. Less bleeding, less fluid losses and water content is kept in balance.
- It is a restricted surgery to one area, chin. Downtime is closely to six week, for the swelling to settle and one can see the results & appreciate the jawline shape.
- It mainly depends on the type of liposuction done, the area, and, most importantly, the facility at which it is performed. It is done in nursing homes, standalone units, cosmetic surgery centers, or corporate hospitals in India. And one other factor is the experience of the plastic surgeon. With all these factors in play, the cost of liposuction is given.
- It costs 🙁 for one body part – abdomen)
- At a nursing home – Rs.80,000 – 1 lac
- Standlone center/ cosmetic surgery unit – upto 1.5lacs
- Corporate hospital – 1.5 – 2lacs
- For multiple areas , it varies, upto 2.5lacs in corporate.
- Liposuction is not a highly invasive procedure. Surgeons use blunt instruments as cannulae, hollow cylindrical tubes of adequate length and diameter that depend on which part of the body. These tubes are inserted through hidden incisions into fat layers, and the procedure is performed.These tube are attached to the suction machine. The process involves :
- Liquifying the fat(fats are compact, so inorder to remove the fat through suction, it should be liqufied first) – with the help of tumescent fluid to liquify the fat, which also helps in shrinking the blood vessels to avoid more bleeding. This is a safe procedure.
- Suction machine is attached to the tubes, and with experts’ hands and experience, the fat is sucked into the machine via these tubes.
- As long as one maintains healthy lifestyle which involves, healty diet with physical acitivity , the results can be lifelong. Fat once removed, no of cells are removed, and if maintained with proper lifestyle suggested by doctors, the results will be permanent.
- Conventional liposuction : Mostly done, where fat is liquefied and then sucked into the machine with the help of the cannulae tubes.
- Ultrasonic Assisted Liposuction: Ultrasounds or Heat waves are passed into the body and fat is targeted and sucked out by the cannulae.
- Radio Frequency Assisted Liposuction: Radio frequency waves are passed through the body to melt the fat, then sucked with the help of cannulae.
The added advantage of Ultrasonic and radio frequency assisted methods, helps with more skin shrinkage following the fat reduction, whereas the conventional approach doesn’t involve heat waves, which doesn’t do much of a retraction for the skin.
These methods are performed for six-pack surgery and 3D liposuction nowadays.
- Though the conventional method is mostly done before, with technology and new techniques, the ultrasonic-assisted is much more effective when other body parts are involved. This technique is much more effective for the back part of the body and fibrotic areas.
- The ultrasonic-assisted method significantly affects the results for Stubborn areas and gynecomastia surgeries and for repeat procedures
Post surgery care
- After the surgery, there are specific lifestyle changes that need to be followed. There are “Diet tips after liposuction” one can follow to maintain the shape.