One of the biggest reasons why plastic surgery has gained so much popularity in recent years is due to liposuction. A routine cosmetic surgery performed by many plastic surgeons, liposuction surgery (or lipoplasty) is an effective surgical technique to enhance a person’s appearance, shape, and profile. Although liposuction removes fat deposits from a patient’s body and reshapes it, it is important to note that liposuction is not a type of weight loss surgery. It is a body reshaping plastic surgery treatment that can be performed on the abdomen, arms, back, buttocks, calves, face, hips, neck, and thighs. Although many people view liposuction as a recent innovation, the surgical treatment actually evolved from the late 1960s. During that time, European surgeons were pushing the medical envelope by using primitive curettage techniques that had been ignored. The first lipoplasty was performed in 1974 and it was a smashing success. Unlike other surgical techniques at the time, liposuction was able to create a smoother look in body contouring. Since that time many decades ago, liposuction has evolved to become the most cosmetic surgical procedure of its time. Liposuction is an effective body contouring treatment that will allow you to look better than ever. It works by removing localized deposits of fat from an area of your body. Although the affected part of the body is reshaped, it is important to note that liposuction cannot improve cellulite or stretch marks. Liposuction, however, can be used effectively in reducing male breast size or gynecomastia or in removing fat tumors (lipomas) from a patient’s body. However, despite its immense popularity, liposuction is not recommended for certain individuals. Are You a Good Candidate for Liposuction? As previously mentioned, liposuction is a plastic surgery treatment that is designed to shape a patient’s body not to help the patient lose weight. For individuals who believe that liposuction is a low-effort alternative to exercise and diet, you’re wrong! Liposuction should not be performed on individuals who have a weakened immune system, diabetes, heart or artery problems. Due to the nature of the surgery, it is highly recommended that patients with a history of blood clots or restricted blood flow not undergo liposuction treatment. Additionally, if you are currently taking medication like blood thinners that can interfere with your body’s natural ability of blood clotting, then you should wait for a more appropriate time for liposuction. On the flipside, if you are an individual with good skin tone and have fatty deposits, liposuction is an excellent and safe plastic surgery treatment. Procedure Liposuction is a surgical procedure intended to remove fat deposits and shape the body. However, there are many different types of liposuction procedures. Generally speaking, liposuction treatment can take place on more than one area, for instance, the abdomen, back, and thighs all on the same day. If you decide to take the step to talk to a doctor about liposuction, it is important that you be thorough with your questions. One of the biggest mistakes that liposuction patients make is not asking every question that they have about the treatment before with their doctor. It is only by asking a set of questions about the procedure that you will be able to fully understand what will occur in a liposuction treatment. Unfortunately, many individuals have based their liposuction decision solely on cost. It is highly recommended that you consult with a number of doctors and take the time to properly investigate which doctor you feel will do the best job in the treatment. Once you have decided that you want to have liposuction, it is highly recommended that you take the time to prepare your body. Doctors generally prefer for patients to be as physically fit as possible prior to liposuction treatment. For patients who smoke, it is recommended that you quit smoking for several months. When looking at the nitty gritty details of liposuction you can’t help but notice how potentially life threatening it is. However, in reality, liposuction is considered one of the safest types of cosmetic surgery. It is estimated that over 500,000 liposuction treatments are performed in the United States each year. Additionally, there are a number of liposuction treatments that are now available that you can choose from. Standard Liposuction Modern techniques of liposuction can be traced back to the work of French surgeon, Charles Dujarier. In the standard procedure of liposuction, a small incision is made through the skin. Once the incision has been made, a cannula or tube is inserted that vacuums out the fatty deposits from the area. What occurs is the doctor will push and pull the cannula through the fatty layer of your body thus suctioning the fatty deposit. The advantage of standard liposuction is that it doesn’t require as much time as other liposuction surgical techniques. However, the negatives of standard liposuction are that it can result in increased bruising and blood loss. Tumescent Liposuction What started out as an alternative method of liposuction, tumescent liposuction has become the most common form of liposuction surgery. In this procedure, tumescent liposuction or fluid injection involves an injection of anesthetic into a part of a patient’s body. Also referred to a wet or super wet form of liposuction, tumescent liposuction works by breaking down the fatty deposits of your body with anesthetic. The fatty deposits are removed with the use of a small diameter cannulae. Doctors will recommend tumescent liposuction for treatment in areas of the body that requires precise fat removal. This can include liposuction of the face, ankles, and calves. Although tumescent liposuction typically takes significantly longer than standard liposuction, it is considered the safest form of liposuction. Patients have praised tumescent liposuction’s ability to reduce pain and bruising in the treated area. Additionally, tumescent liposuction has been recognized as the form of liposuction treatment that produces the best aesthetic results and the least pain in treatment. Typically, patients that undergo tumescent liposuction have a shorter postoperative recovery period and report fewer skin irregularities than patients that have undergone other forms of liposuction. Laser Liposuction Liposuction can be considered one of the most innovative fields within plastic surgery. One of these innovations can be seen in the increased popularity of laser liposuction. A liposuction procedure that has recently been developed in Italy, laser liposuction utilizes lasers in body contouring. Unlike other forms of liposuction, laser liposuction requires the fewest amount of fluid injection. In many cases, laser liposuction does not require any fluid injection. How it works is that a fiber optic laser is inserted through small incisions that your doctor will make in your body. The laser will then strike the area’s fatty deposits and absorb the fatty waste from your body. Conclusion We live in a world that has increasingly high expectations of how a person looks. Unfortunately, more people find themselves with less time and are becoming prone in judging books by their cover. By undergoing liposuction surgery, you may find that you will be able to obtain the body that you’ve always wanted. Considering its status as the most popular plastic surgery treatment and its high degree of safety, it is easy to see why more and more people are turning towards liposuction!