Jim, a recent liposuction patient, recently related his experience-“I’ve always enjoyed being active, but over the last few years no matter what I did my love handles remained. That’s when I decided to have liposuction. The outpatient surgery was relatively painless. I was up and walking around the next day, back to work in a few days.
Men, just like women, develop areas of fat deposits that are resistant to diet and exercise. In men the most requested area are the “love handles” or “tire” around the waist, which usually include the abdomen, waist and hips.
Even with proper diet and consistent exercise most people realize that it is often impossible to get rid of the problem areas of unwanted excess fat. A pinch test can determine whether a person may be a good candidate for liposuction. Pinching the skin and fat between the thumb and index finger determines the thickness of the tissue. If more then an inch can be pinched then liposuction may be helpful.
Men are more likely then women to store much of their fat in the abdominal cavity, around the organs, otherwise known as omental fat. When there is obvious abdominal fullness, but relatively little fat to pinch under the skin, liposuction is of little benefit.
Tumescent liposuction begins by filling the tissues to be sculpted with a solution of normal body saline that contains a couple of important medications: 1)a dilute concentration of lidocaine that numbs the tissues for several hours and 2) adrenaline which shrinks the small capillaries running adjacent to the fat cells thereby significantly decreasing bleeding.
The surgeon artistically sculpts the body fat through small incisions using a stainless steel tube called a cannula. The development of smaller cannulas is another significant advance in modern liposuction. These smaller cannulas require less force and are more gentle to the tissues, significantly reducing the chance of skin irregularities.
A support garmet is worn several days after surgery for comfort and tissue support. There is minimal discomfort and a gradual resumption of activity is encouraged beginning the next day. Most people return to work in three to five days depending on the extent of the surgery.
As with any elective cosmetic surgical procedure there are risks. Common side-effects include bruising, swelling and temporary numbness. Although irregularities of the skin are possible following liposuction, the side effect is minimized by using the tumescent technique and smaller cannulas.
The fat cells that are removed do not grow back and the shape changes are permanent. While it is recommended that patients maintain a steady body weight, patients who gain weight find that they still maintain their new shape changes. “Liposuction was the best thing I have ever done for myself. It has helped jump start a better exercise and diet routine and restored a healthier self-image.