What is Liposuction?Home » Surgical Procedures » Body Contouring » Liposuction » What is Liposuction?
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Liposuction, also known as body contouring or suction-assisted lipectomy, is the surgical removal of localized or regional excess fat. Liposuction is commonly performed in the areas of the neck, arms, breasts (in men this procedure is called “gynecomastia”), upper and lower abdomen, flanks, back, outer thighs (“saddlebags”), inner thighs, buttocks, inner knees, calves and ankles. Dr. Weintraub does not make incisions in the skin for liposuction. He prefers creating punctate apertures with a very small needle to accommodate the lipo cannula so that there are no visible scars or telltale signs of the liposuction surgery. There are several different types of liposuction: Traditional liposuction is the careful removal of volumes of unwanted subcutaneous fat through very small hollow tubes called cannulae. Contrary to popular thought, liposuction is not “vacuum cleaning” fat away, but rather, with each pass of the cannula, a volume of fat is extracted, leaving in its wake many tunnels that look on cross section like Swiss cheese. Because each tunnel represents an extracted volume of fat, the skin with its overlying elasticity collapses onto the underlying fascia, thus creating a slimmer profile. Tumescent liposuction, or super-wet technique, requires an infusion of saline solution prior to liposuction surgery that is injected into unwanted fatty areas to loosen the fat and minimize bleeding and bruising by constricting the blood vessels. Laser liposuction, commonly called “Smart Lipo” is not liposuction at all. The laser cannula is basically likened to a violin string with no open hole, but is instead a laser-lit probe. The probe is passed under the skin to melt away the unwanted fat, transforming it into an oil that must then be removed by traditional liposuction. Laser lipo is useful for small areas such as the neck and under the arms, but Dr. Weintraub does not consider it to be effective for large areas as it leaves an enormous amount of oil under the skin that can be predisposed to seroma formation. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction, or UAL, uses ultrasonic energy to loosen the fat to make it easier to extract. While liposuction can permanently reshape body contours, it not a treatment for obesity or a substitute for proper diet and exercise. However, after undergoing liposuction, many patients find it easier to be inspired to live a healthier, thinner lifestyle, and continued weight loss and improvement of self-esteem are not uncommon. Return to our home page for more about plastic surgery in NYC. | 
