Liposuction Los Angeles
Questions and Answers: Liposuction
Men and women tend to store fat in different areas. Men often put extra weight around their love handles and abdomen while women tend to gain it around their thighs and hips. While exercise and dieting reduce total body fat they cannot induce spot fat reduction. For example, push-ups do not reduce the fat around the abdomen but help to reduce the total body fat. Considering this, liposuction provides an avenue for selectively removing fat and therefore sculpting the body in ways not possible by other means. Can a person regain fat in areas that were liposuctioned? Most likely no. This is because fat only gets deposited into fat cells. Because liposuction removes fat cells from the areas that are suctioned, new fat will be deposited in other areas of the body. This is not a big issue unless a person gains significant weight (>40lbs) after liposuction.
People that benefit the most from liposuction are those that are close to their ideal body weight and have good skin elasticity. The tighter and more elastic a person’s skin is the nicer and smoother result they could expect with liposuction. Stretch marks are a sign of skin elasticity loss.
Does liposuction remove stretch marks? No. In fact, the stretch marks can become more noticeable after liposuction. Because the skin and the underlying tissues in different areas of the body have different characteristics and react differently to liposuction, only an examination by your expert plastic surgeon can give you an idea of how well a certain area will do. Liposuction can be performed on areas of face and neck, chest, abdomen, flanks, back, arms, buttocks, thighs, calves, and ankles. I perform the tumescent liposuction technique, which involves infiltrating the fatty areas with a solution that help reduce blood loss and eases the removal of fat. Then through very tiny holes in the skin fat is suctioned out.
What is ultrasonic liposuction and is it better? Ultrasonic liposuction is a method in which an ultrasound probe is inserted in to the fatty areas to help break up fat cells by bursting them with ultrasonic energy. While this might makes the plastic surgeon’s job faster and easier, in my opinion, it exposes the patient to additional unnecessary risks. There have been many reports of skin burns, nerve damage, and seroma and fluid build up which has never been an issue with the traditional liposuction techniques. You should discuss the pros and cons of this method with you plastic surgeon in detail before making a decision. Liposuction can be performed under local or general anesthesia. This depends on the extent of the liposuction as well as the health status of a patient. I perform most liposuctions at our surgical center, which is certified by the state’s department of health for surgeries such as this. After surgery patients are monitored and then discharged home or to an after-care medical facility to recuperate. Patients usually wear special garments that help reduce the swelling and bruising after surgery. Depending on the type and extent of surgery most patients return to work in a few days. Liposuction like any other surgical procedure carries certain potential risks and complications. There is loss of blood involved with liposuction because some blood is also removed along with the fat. Therefore, the larger the amount of liposuction the bigger the blood loss.
Tumescent liposuction is a method designed to minimize blood loss with liposuction. Never the less, there is a safe limit of amount to be liposuctioned depending on the patients weight, blood count, and health status. There is a less than 1% chance of infection. This risk is greatly reduced by giving patients antibiotics during the surgery and afterwards. The areas that are suctioned usually become numb after surgery and it takes several months for the feeling to return. There is a chance that as this happens some of the areas might become hypersensitive or remain asensate. Depending on the extent of skin elasticity and the presence of stretch marks patients can notice minor wrinkling or skin irregularities. There is always some bruising involved with liposuction, which usually fades, but rarely might turn into hyperpigmentation. As with any surgery you will have some pain and discomfort but we try to make you comfortable by prescribing you pain medication after surgery. Tumescent liposuction also carries specific risks. Because this solution contains anesthetics such as Lidocaine there is always a risk of Lidocaine toxicity. This risk is very low because the concentration and amounts used are minuscule. There is also a risk of pulmonary edema, which is minimized by closely monitoring a patient during and after surgery. There are other rare risks that might be involved with this surgery. Before undergoing this procedure, like any other surgery, you should discuss the potential risks and complications with your doctor.
Finally, liposuction like any other esthetic procedure involves artistic sense and talent as well as surgical skill and scientific know-how. Esthetic outcomes result from a combination of where you start from, how you heal, and what your surgeon can do. Therefore, you should understand that even though your surgeon aims for perfection, goals should be more in tune with reality.
During your consultation Dr. Younai will review your treatment options for liposuction, including pros and cons of each procedure, potential risks and complications, recovery course, pre and post operative instructions, and esthetic outcomes. There are also many before-and-after pictures and high resolution images of liposuction available in our photo gallery.
Liposuction Los Angeles famous and expert Dr. Younai is a board certified plastic surgeon who receives patients at the California Center for Plastic Surgery from the Northern as well as the Southern California region. Some of these cities include Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Pasadena, Glendale, Valencia, Palmdale, Fresno, and Oxnard.