Liposuction 101

• Posted on: Mar 15 2018
• By: sharpnet
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Fat is generally an unwanted item on the body. Unless, of course, you’re a grizzly bear in Montana trying to bulk up for a long winter. For us human animals, however, most of us aren’t big fans of body fat. Plus, no matter what kind of physical shape you’re in you probably have some pockets of fat here and there that you can’t do a darn thing about.

You know the spots — your abdomen, thighs, buttocks, hips, under your chin, even along the bra strap area.

Fortunately, Dr. Snodgrass and Dr. Robinson offer liposuction as an answer for stubborn fat pockets. In liposuction, the unwanted fat is suctioned out permanently, leaving you with a slimmer contour. Modern liposuction is minimally invasive and leaves little, if any, scarring.

What is liposuction?

Today’s liposuction has come a long way from when it was first introduced in the U.S. in the 1980s. The procedure first came to the U.S. after being developed in France. At that time, liposuction was a pretty violent procedure that caused extensive bruising, tissue trauma, and blood loss. Patients needed to be under general anesthesia because the doctor had to move the cannula back and forth quite aggressively to break loose the fat.

Today, liposuction with Dr. Snodgrass and Dr. Robinson is much easier. The procedure is typically performed under sedation or “twilight” anesthesia as an outpatient procedure. We use the tumescent technique, where a saline solution containing lidocaine is first injected into the target areas to minimize the pain and firm the fat, making it easier to remove. The solution also contains epinephrine to constrict the blood vessels, limiting blood loss and bruising. A cannula is then inserted to suction out the fat and liquid. The cannulas used in modern liposuction are much smaller, so the corresponding incisions needed to access the fat pockets are very small, usually not even requiring stitches.

For more difficult areas such as the back, we can add ultrasound energy to the liposuction procedure. This ultrasound energy breaks up and partially liquefies the fat, making it even easier to remove.

Is liposuction for weight loss?

First things first — liposuction is NOT a weight loss procedure. In fact, if too much fat is removed, it can be dangerous. Liposuction is meant to remove isolated pockets of fat that don’t respond to changes in diet and exercise. Virtually everyone has such pockets somewhere on their body. We generally want our patients to be within 10% of their ideal body weight before they should have liposuction with us.

Want to show those stubborn pockets of fat on your lower abdomen or thighs who’s the boss? Call the team at Snodgrass & Robinson Plastic Surgery Specialists, (706) 622-4938, and set up a consultation for liposuction.

Posted in: Liposuction