Liposuction or Lipoplasty! Which is safer?

Once you decide to put down your weight with the help of surgeries you have got to examine the different types of surgeries. If you are thinking of liposuction surgery there are several factors to be examined and analyzed besides the cost of liposuction.

What is Liposuction?

surgery removes fat from various areas of your body. It can be performed on your abdomen, thighs, buttocks, neck or arms. They normally use a cannula and aspirator to remove the fat. This type of surgery is good for fat deposits which one finds it impossible to rectify through simple diet and exercise. The actual amount of fat that will be removed depends on several factors. It first depends on the patient's medical history and the actual fat content. The doctor will also examine how much fat can be taken from the patient. Similarly it depends on the methodology or the surgical procedure. In no case will the surgeon extract less than 10 pounds of fat.

Several factors come into play when your doctor is deciding how much fat can be safely removed in one surgery. If too much fat is removed lumpiness can occur in the skin. No one removes fifty pounds of fat during one session. Although, the actual contouring that happens with liposuction can make you look as though you lost more weight than you actually did. This procedure can be performed with the help of local anesthesia.

Different Types of Liposuction

There are many different types of liposuction. We will talk a little about each type individually. This will give you several options that you can discuss with your doctor.

Basic Liposuction With Fluid InjectionDuring basic abdominal liposuction a small amount of fluid is injected in the area where the su

rgery is to be performed. This fluid contains Lidocaine and Epinephrine. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic while Epinephrine is used to contract the blood vessels and to minimize the bleeding. A salt solution which is present in the fluid will turn into saline. This fluid will help you to lose fat cells and reduce bruising.

Tumescent Liposuction

Tumescent liposuction is advancement. The fluid used in this is just like the saline solution mentioned in the category of liposuction. Since it contains lots of fluids, it will create a space between the muscle and fatty tissue. This will create lot of room for the suction tube.

This procedure can take four hours or even longer depending on the size of the area. This is because after the fluid is introduced, it can take about an hour for it to percolate and make the area larger. Your surgeon can't start work until this occurs.

Super-Wet Liposuction

If you are having a lot of fat removed, then this is the preferred by most plastic surgeons. This method can take from one to three hours. It all depends on the size of the area to be treated.

Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction

This is also known as ultrasonic liposuction. This is a type of tumescent liposuction. Your surgeon will use a specialized suction tube that transmits ultrasound vibrations inside your body

Precautions and Care Needed

After you undergo surgery, you will have to wear an ACE bandage on the area until the draining stops. This could be anywhere from a few days or four weeks. Your bandages will have to be regularly changed after a couple of days. Your drainage tubes and sutures will be taken out after five or ten days. Your pain can last up to two weeks and will be controlled by medications. It can take up to two months for the swelling to go down and as long as two weeks for bruising to go away. You should be able to resume your normal activities anywhere from two weeks to two months after your surgery.

Is it Cost Effective and Safe?

There may be some complications in this surgery. Your surgeon should check and ensure that your body is perfectly for this surgery. Only after he is confident he will ask you to be prepared for the surgery. You could have an allergic reaction to anesthesia or get an infection, or even puncture an internal organ. The rarest complication is skin necrosis or skin death. The percentage of a major complication is 0.14%. However as the figure indicates the number of such cases are very minimal.

The cost of liposuction is quiet high. Therefore you must be prepared to meet all the expenses. In some cases post operative care will also be costly. It can cost between $2000 and $3000. This money is to treat one portion of your body viz. stomach or thigh or so on.

You may discuss the different options available to you with your doctor. If liposuction surgery is appropriate then you may go ahead. However you must examine the pros cons and every other detail before deciding on this.