| Dr. Bill J. Johnson is a plastic surgeon and has answered some of the common questions bizymoms visitors have about Liposuction.
Q. What is the "tumescent technique"?
A. Tumescent technique basically means to swell or puff up the area being treated. This is done by injecting a solution, mainly saline, into an area that needs to be treated. This solution also has other things in it, such as lidocaine, epinephrine, etc. By injecting it into an area (using a infiltration pump device) the tissue becomes numb and prepped for treatment. This is how liposuction is done while the patient is awake. By being awake, the patient can move on the bed, roll over, and even stand up for the physician. This is most important when doing outer thighs and breast fat transfer. Also, the tumescent technique tends to have less downtime than traditional techniques. Tumescent also has a safe track record in all the years that is has been used. You will see more cosmetic procedures going towards the tumescent technique in the future.
Q. What is ultrasonic liposuction?
A. There are two ways to answer this. True ultrasonic liposuction is called VASER. Vaser uses ultrasound waves that actually melt fat. It's a surgical procedure, and incisions must be made. That being said, the incisions are only a 1/4'' at most. The Vaser cannula does heat up, and protective skin ports must be used to prevent small skin burns. Typically, physicians will opt to use ultrasound technology to melt "more" fat in a small period of time. Smartlipo is generally used after Vaser in order to tighten skin. The second form would be non-surgical ultrasound lipo. Though liposuction isn't really the right word for this since there is no suction or removal of fat. This device is called UltraShape. Ultrashape is not in the US, but it uses ultrasound waves that distrupt fat from the outside in. Therefore killing fat cells and releasing fat energy into the body. This fat is picked up by the lymphatic system, brought to the liver, and then processed like a heavy, calorie filled meal, and placed in other parts of the body where you still have living fat cells. Because there is no suction, the fat doesn't leave the body. This is important to note because there are numerous other non-surgical technologies on the market that DO claim to expel fat from your body. These are false. It is physically impossible to expel fat in this manner. It sounds good and simple, but no, you can't pass fat into your urine or bowel movements. I would also like to add that in the recent year, a new form of liposuction has come to the US. This technology is called Vibro Lipo (or googled under Custom Acoustic Liposuction or Tickle Lipo). Vibro lipo replaces Vaser by vibration based liposuction. Physicians are able to remove even more fat faster, and with even less downtime. Since it's vibration based, there is no heat produced, and the risk of burn is taken away. It is also a great tool for liposculpture because of the ability to go right under the skin. Once again, Smartlipo is a finishing tool after Vibro lipo.
Q. Can the fat come back?
A. If the fat cell is killed, melted, or dissolved, the body will not re-grow a new fat cell to replace it. If the fat is only leaked, then that fat will heal, and become a storage device again. This is why you always want suction during a liposuction procedure, and also why physicians like technology assisted lipo to kill/melt remaining fat cells. You must also know that not all the fat can be removed. It's due to skin tightening results. If you take out all the fat at once, the skin must heal to the muscle. This will look like a bad shrink wrap job, and I think it's safe to say that most people don't want that! Patients also shouldn't think of lipo as a eat anything diet. If you gain weight, you have less places for the fat to go, but it will still go somewhere! So, stay healthy, exercise, and you'll have great results.
Q. Is it true that other areas get fat after liposuction?
A. This goes back to the previous answer. If we remove fat/kill fat from an area, then the body wont replace those fat cells. But, if you gain weight, the fat must go somewhere else. This somewhere is where you still have living, healthy fat cells. So, yes, if you gain weight, other areas will get bigger. If you don't eat more calories than what your body needs, then you will maintain the results you want.
Q. Is liposuction surgery painful?
A. Liposuction has gone through many advancements over the years. Most of these advancements have been for speed, efficiency, and pain control. Most pain control is done with the initial infiltration of the tumescent fluid. Vibro Lipo was the first advancement for infiltration in about 20 years! The vibration from the device actually pushed the numbing solution deeper into all the nooks and cranies of the tissue and therefore numbing the area much more. This is how patients become comfortable during the procedure. I wouldn't say it is 100% pain free, but it's getting there. You always have to realize that you have to go from normal to numb somehow...and in that a-b transition, there will probably be some minor discomfort. Most patients will agree that the soreness after lipo is more of a nuisance than any discomfort felt during the procedure itself. |
