Liposuction

Liposuction or suction-assisted lipectomy is one of the most popular means of body contouring techniques in cosmetic surgeries. The suitable and ideal candidate for this surgery is a person who has too much fat stored in specific areas or spots of the body but otherwise has a stable body weight. In liposuction, a suction technique is being used to remove fat from the specific spots or areas of the body like thighs, hips, stomach, arms etc.

Prior to liposuction, a pre-operative marking is done with the patient in an erect position. Areas to be suctioned are marked with a circle. Incisions are placed in hidden areas and are approximately 3mm to 4mm in length. Small volume liposuction can be done under local anesthesia with mild sedation. Large volume liposuctions require general anesthesia.

After the surgery patients can be discharged within one day or the same day and they will be able to return to normal activities within a week. Post-operative swelling and bruising occur and subsidies over a week to a fortnight. Light exercises are allowed. Results will be in front of the patients within a few months.

Indications for Liposuction:

1. Body contouring

1.1 Treatment for multiple lipomas:

Multiple lipomas occur in a condition called lipomatosis which occurs in some people. It is characterized by a number of lumps of fat occurring all over the body. Despite being a benign condition, it is often a cosmetically disfiguring condition. The classical way of treatment was to excise individual lipomas especially if they were in a visible location or causing pain. This leaves longitudinal scars which in large numbers are disfiguring.

1.2 Microliposuction:

This is a new technique of liposuction for small areas like the face ,chin and neck. It utilises very small cannulas of diameter up to 2 mm for liposuction. The advantage of this technique is that it involves very little trauma due to the fine instrumentation used. It is performed under local anesthesia and the patient is ready to return to work the next day. Bruising, pain and swelling are minimal after this type of liposuction.

2. Double chin reduction:

The common indication of micro liposuction is double chin correction. Using very fine cannulas and a local anaesthetic solution, fat is aspirated from the chin or “submental area”. This removes stubborn fat from the chin and a well defined jaw line can be achieved.

Post-operatively, the patient is required to wear a chin strap which can be continued as long as 6 wks post op.