Liposuction
Overview:
Liposuction is a recontouring of the body by removing small cores of fat over a wide area. It is best for people with good skin tone and where the fat is fairly localised in its distribution. It can be used in many circumstances, but note that is not a substitute for losing weight or exercising and it will not produce a great deal of tightening if substantial skin laxity is present. If the skin is lax, then a formal excisional operation is likely to be necessary, as with a thigh lift or a tummy tuck.
Liposuction removes fat cells permanently, since fat cells are not believed to regenerate and thus a permanent contour improvement can be expected. However, if the patient gains or loses weight substantially, then that weight will undoubtedly be put on in various places, including the liposuctioned area. The upside is that there will be not as much weight put on in that specific area as there would be in the presence of more cells. It is not true that simply removing fat from one area causes it to bulge out somewhere else.
Liposuction is not the same as a Tummy Tuck. It only removes fat and can produce little, if any, skin tightening on its own, depending on the pre-existing skin laxity. If the tummy is stretched, typically by pregnancy, or the muscles are stretched apart, then Liposuction can achieve only a minimal amount of improvement. If more is desired, then muscles need to be tightened and slack skin removed as well as the underlying fat. Most Surgeons will use a Liposuction instrument as an supplementary tool during this procedure to enhance the contour improvement.
Cautions:
Liposculpture:
Liposculpture is fundamentally a marketing ploy. It is basically the same process as liposuction however proponents say they achieve better contouring and skin shrinkage by suctioning very close to the skin. This view is not widely held and the practice can cause major complications if anything goes wrong.
Lipostructure:
This term is likewise a marketing ploy, subliminally suggesting the removal of fat from one area to enhance another. In fact this process can be quite effective in the face given extremely careful attention to technique and an ability to predict an individuals rate of fat absorption. However it should never be used in breast cases because it is impossible to harvest enough to make a meaningful difference, a proportion of fat transferred to the breast dissolves, the breast is intolerant of foreign fat and what fat remains confuses testing for breast cancer. These are very good reasons to reject any spiel.
Ultrasonic Liposuction:
In an attempt to produce an improvement in the Liposuction apparatus, which is basically a hollow tube attached to a vacuum pump, inventors have produced a tube with a small ultra sonic generator at the tip. This tip melts its way through fat, which is then removed by suction. This technique could hold significant promise but is still being improved.
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