IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TUMESCENT LIPOSUCTION

Risks of Liposuction Surgery: Any surgery involves the risk of infection, bleeding, scarring, or serious injury. However, tumescent liposuction has an amazingly good safety record. One of the reasons that tumescent liposuction is so safe is that neither general anesthesia nor intravenous drugs are required. A 1996 survey involving over 15,000 patients who had tumescent liposuction revealed no serious complications, no serious infections, no hospitalizations, no blood transfusions, and no deaths. Patients can help minimize the risk of complications by not taking medications or over-the-counter preparations that might adversely affect the surgery. Patients should inform the surgeon of any medications being taken either regularly or occasionally, including herbal remedies. It is critical to avoid aspirin during the week prior to surgery!

Irregularities of the Skin (Cellulite): Tumescent liposuction with microcannulas is the unlikely to cause any noticeable post-surgical irregularities of the skin. It is also not likely to produce improvement. Cellulite results from the pull of fibrous tissue that connects skin to underlying muscle; liposuction does not disturb much of this tissue.

Uneven contour: Irregularity of the outer thighs or lower abdomen is common and is the trade-off for improving the overall silhouette. Peaks and/or valleys are more likely to be present after liposuction in areas where the fat was quite thick. Removing 90% of fat in one area and 70% in another is not likely to be noticeable in a patient when started out with an inch of fat because the difference afterwards would amount to 1/5 of an inch. In a patient with 4 inches of fat, the just-described difference in fat removal would leave a difference of 4/5 of an inch afterwards—quite likely noticeable. Uneven results can usually, but not always, be corrected by a repeat procedure after allowing enough time to be sure healing is complete (six or more months). Patients who have asymmetry before liposuction, or who have scars, are also more likely to have uneven results.

Liposuction and Obesity: Liposuction is not an appropriate treatment for obesity; there is no substitute for a prudent diet, good nutrition, and regular exercise. Nonetheless, obese patients may be good candidates for liposuction if their goal is simply to improve the shape of limited areas of the body. Removal of an “apron” of fat (usually including excision of excess skin) can produce quite an improvement in appearance even though the abdomen still protrudes afterwards (because fat accumulates inside the abdomen also). One can get an idea of how much their abdomen sticks out by noting where the deepest part of the navel is located. Note that body tissues, like all liquids and solids, cannot be compressed into a smaller space. Try compressing a water balloon for proof. This limits the effectiveness of girdles or of tummy tucks that tighten muscles.

Postoperative Healing: Normal healing after tumescent liposuction involves a limited but definite degree of soreness, swelling, bruising, and lumpy firmness. Soreness to touch lasts about a month. Mild numbness of the skin may persist for up to 4 months. Most patients can actually see some improvement of their silhouette immediately after surgery. Swelling at 1 to 2 weeks may make it look like nothing was done. Then by a month, results definitely show. Final shape is arrived at by 2 to 4 months. Though not affecting shape, some areas may remain firm to the touch for as long as 6 months, particularly above a skin excision scar. Removal of large amounts of fat in combination with skin removal does create a risk of skin necrosis (skin kill, like a burn). This is rare, not more than one in 25 such procedures. The result is prolonged healing in an area, but minimal effect on the final appearance.

Longevity of Results: The fat cells that are removed by liposuction do not grow back. The ratio of fat between the treated area and the rest of the body is permanently changed. Thus later gains or losses of weight tend to be distributed proportionately over the entire body and the new silhouette is permanent. Large weight gains (over 10%) can affect the appearance of areas where aggressively liposuctioned areas are blended with areas still containing a substantial amount of fat—the main example is outer thighs. Some re-blending could be required in this case. Changes in body fat distribution will still occur with aging—generally a greater proportion of fat is inside the abdomen as one grows older. It is advisable for women to wait until their family is complete before having abdominal liposuction, but the few patients who have become pregnant, all more than a year after liposuction, have been ok.