Liposuction

What is liposuction / liposculpture?

Liposuction is a procedure carried out to remove localised fat through a tube inserted under the skin in different areas of the patient's body. The target area is first infiltrated with a saline type solution to swell and stiffen the fat before 1-3mm cannulas are inserted through tiny carefully placed incisions to access and extract the fat.

Laser assisted lipolysis or smartlipo

Laser assisted lipolysis, also known as smartlipo) is a very similar technique.

With this a laser probe is placed beneath the skin which burns and melts the fat causing cell destruction rather than cell extraction. Both techniques rely on skin shrinkage to achieve an optimal result when a significant reduction in fat volume is achieved. Both liposuction and laser assisted lipolysis can be termed liposculpture and the techniques can be combined.

Popular places to have liposuction / liposculpture done are:

• The abdomen
• The flanks / love handle region
• Outer thigh and saddle bag region
• Inner thigh at the top of the legs
• The inside of the knee
• The ankles
• The back around shoulder blades
• Under the chin

Who would be suitable for liposuction / liposculpture?

Liposculpture is a very effective way of changing shapes and sculpting a figure, it is however a very poor tool for weight reduction. It is better to loose weight first and then use liposculpture to reshape any stubborn regions, not resolved by weight loss or exercise. Liposculpture can be combined with other procedures such as a tummy tuck, to remove excess skin that has failed to shrink back.