Liposuction and Liposculpture Surgery
An overview of Liposuction surgery in Australia
Liposuction, also called lipoplasty or suction assisted lipectomy, removes areas of excess fat to smooth and reshape particular areas of the body. This procedure can slim hips and thighs, flatten the stomach, shape calves and ankles or remove a double chin. Liposuction is really effective in removing excess fat that you can’t get rid of with diet and exercise.
The procedure involves inserting a thin metal tube through small cuts in the skin around the area where the fat will be removed. The tube, called a cannula, is moved back and forth through the fat tissue to break it up. The fat is vacuumed out through the cannula, which is attached to a suction pump.
Liposuction is done under either local or general anaesthesia. If only a small amount of fat is removed, or only one or two areas of the body need treatment, liposuction can be performed with local anaesthesia. This means that only the treated areas will be numbed and you will be awake during the procedure but you won’t feel any pain. Liposuction done under local anaesthetic can be performed in a surgery, rather than hospital.
For larger volumes of fat, or if the procedure is performed on several areas of the body, liposuction is done under general anaesthetic. A general anaesthetic will put you to sleep for the whole procedure. Areas that can be contoured by liposuction
Liposuction can be performed on any area of the body where there are pockets of excess fat. Mostly, liposuction is done on the stomach, hips, buttocks, back, breasts, thighs, knees, calves, ankles and upper arms. You can also have liposuction done around the face and neck. There are also options for non surgical liposuction in Melbourne.
Different types of liposuction surgery
These days, most surgeons use ‘wet’ liposuction, where they inject a ‘wetting’ solution under the skin where the fat will be removed. The wetting solution contains salt water (saline), epinephrine (narrows the blood vessels to reduce bleeding) and a local anaesthetic. This technique can be ‘wet’, ‘super-wet’ or ‘tumescent’, which refers to how much wetting solution is injected before performing liposuction. Wetting solutions have improved the safety of liposuction, and reduced the amount of time needed for recovery.
The other differences in technique relate to how easily the fat is removed, and are variations of the traditional Suction Assisted Lipectomy (SAL), where fat is removed from the body using vacuum suction. The other methods (Ultrasound assisted, Power or Mechanical assisted, Laser assisted, or Water-jet assisted) loosen the fat away from the underlying muscle layer and dissolve it so it is easier to vacuum away. The easier it is to remove the fat, the less damage is done to the surrounding tissues, resulting in a quicker recovery.
Your surgeon will choose the appropriate technique based on his experience, expertise and on your particular requirements. You can discuss all of the options with your surgeon during the first consultation.