UTAH LIPOSUCTION

Liposuction Before and after photos

“See what else I am saying about liposuction on my blog”

Liposuction removes unwanted fatty bulges.  Dr. Yates is proud to offer liposuction to the Salt Lake City, Utah area.

Suction assisted lipoplasty, also called liposuction, liposculpture or “lipo” is performed to remove unwanted fat in defined regions of the body. Commonly treated areas include the thighs, hips, abdomen, neck and arms.

Liposuction has evolved tremendously over the past thirty years and is now the most common cosmetic surgery in the U.S.  Advancements in liposuction technique include the use of blunt tipped cannulas as well as tumescent liposuction wherein solutions are infiltrated before the procedure to limit bleeding/ swelling and  allow liposuction to be performed safely in an office operating room under local anesthetic.

Liposuction can commonly be combined with other procedures such as abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and breast augmentation and can be performed under general anesthesia where indicated. The ideal candidate for liposuction is at or near his/ her ideal body weight with fat bulges in unwanted areas. It is not a treatment for obesity but can decrease fat bulges and create aesthetically pleasing contours and profiles. It is not a treatment for loose skin. Skin excision methods such as thigh lift, abdominoplasty and brachioplasty are necessary to accomplish this.

Recently Smartlipo and other forms of laser liposuction have come on the scene claiming they tighten the skin but at this point there is little evidence to support this.  I discussed a recent experience with laser liposuction on my blog.

Superficial liposculpture is liposuction with small cannulas close to the skin.  There is some skin tightening with this superficial technique but great caution must be used to prevent skin irregularities.  Cellulite is difficult to treat with all modalities, including liposuction.

Do the new alternatives to traditional liposuction work?

• Ultrasound assisted liposuction (UAL) such as Vaser has been proven to be effective, however, the procedure is generally more expensive and has some additional risks such as burns as compared to traditional liposuction. For these reasons, Dr. Yates does not prefer UAL.
  

• Laser liposuction (Smartlipo), is another modification of traditional liposuction that uses a laser at the tip of the cannula to help remove the fatty tissue. The fat is basically burned and then suctioned.  There are additional costs and risks associated with the addition of the laser.  There may be some slight skin tightening that occurs with the laser, this would be exciting and a good reason to use laser liposuction if this is convincing. Most importantly, at this point very few plastic surgeons are recommending or using smartlipo.  Most physicians using Smartlipo at this time are not trained or skilled in the fine points of liposuction safety.  Liposuction is a very dangerous procedure in untrained hands.  Here in Salt Lake City, Utah, there are numerous billboards and ads for laser lipolysis by non-plastic surgeons in medical spas.  Please be very careful and choose only a board certified plastic surgeon.

• Water assisted liposuction (Body-Jet) – The newest modification of traditional liposuction.  At the tip of the liposuction cannula a small stream of tumescent fluid is used to loosen the fat before removal with suction.  Very similar to traditional liposuction with a couple of potential advantages.  First, large areas can be treated more easily due to the larger volumes of local anesthetic available by this technique.  Second, the fat can be easily collected for fat grafting for procedures such as breast augmentation (controversial) and buttock augmentation.
  

  Lipodissolve deformity of the abdomen

• Mesotherapy involves injections of various substances beneath the skin with the purpose of removing fat. This procedure does not allow for a measurable, consistent amount of fat removal. Most patients do not see any improvement from this procedure.

• Zerona – external ultrasound claims to melt the fat which is resorbed.  Great idea…. if it proves to be safe and to work over time.
  

Dr Yates is in the process of actively weighing advantages and disadvantages of all of these options.  They are still in their infancy but with time one or more may proove to be superior to traditional liposuction.  Until then, Dr. Yates prefers a traditional form of liposuction (power assisted) as it has an excellent track record of safety and effectiveness in the right hands.

What type of liposuction does Dr. Yates prefer?

Dr. Yates prefers power assisted liposuction.  The cannula is attached to a vibrating hand piece.  The fat is suctioned with assistance of vibration of the tip.  This results in quicker fat removal.  Dr. Yates prefers the artistic control he feels with this technology.

How is liposuction performed?

The areas to be treated will be marked prior to going to the operating room. Sedation will be administered, you will be awake but quite relaxed. The fatty bulges are infiltrated with tumescent solution to eliminate pain and minimize bleeding.  Small incisions (less than one cm) will be made in locations hidden by undergarments. Small cannulas are inserted into these incisions and the fat is removed.

What areas are commonly treated with liposuction?

Areas commonly treated with liposuction include:

• Neck (double chin)
• Upper hips (spare tire or “muffin-top”)
• Inner thighs
• Outer thighs and “banana roll”
• Arms
• Abdomen
• Back

How do I know if I need liposuction or a tummy tuck?

Liposuction removes fat, a tummy tuck removes loose skin, stretch marks and fat while tightening the abdominal muscles. The ideal candidate for liposuction of the abdomen has excess fat with good skin elasticity, no stretch marks, and flat abdominal muscles.

To determine how much abdominal muscle separation contributes to abdominal bulge “hold in” and let go of the abdominal muscles while standing and notice the degree of change.

See link for details but generally, not well.

Does the removed fat simply come back if I gain more weight?

No. Except in cases of morbid obesity, our adult bodies have a fixed number of adipocytes (fat cells). As we gain weight those cells expand and enlarge but their number does not change. In other words, the removed fat cells are gone for good. Of course, it is still possible to gain weight after liposuction. If one were to gain weight following liposuction, the overall contour achieved with surgery stays fairly proportionate.

Liposuction is not a procedure aimed at weight loss. You may find that you lose a small amount of weight, however the aim of the procedure is improved contour.