A woman holding her bare abdomen with dashed line drawings and arrows indicating areas for potential surgery, in a room with natural light and minimal decor.

Liposuction

Lipoplasty (better known as liposuction) is a cosmetic procedure that targets unwanted fat deposits in certain areas of the body. Typical treatment areas include : abdomen, hips (flanks and love handles), thighs, upper arms and knees, neck, chin and lateral sides of the breasts. While a healthy diet and exercise are the hallmark of any weight loss strategy, liposuction surgery can selectively target areas of fat on your body that don’t respond well to diet and exercise alone.

Where as an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) uses one long incision to remove excess skin, liposuction uses several small incisions to access fat deposits. A thin tube (cannula) is inserted and permanently removes the fat cells. Liposuction is commonly performed in addition to other cosmetic surgery procedures, such as breast reduction or augmentation, abdominoplasty and neck rejuvenation. Gynecomastia surgery, for example, can be use ultrasound-assisted liposuction to ensure that excess glandular tissue is removed in addition to the excess fat.

Details

The procedure is not intended to treat obesity or body weight, but to improve contour irregularities of the body. The procedure does not remove cellulite, dimples or stretch marks. Lipo is often the ideal operation for men and women seeking to modify and enhance their body contours of specific areas when skin removal is not necessary, only body fat. Traditional liposuction can be performed either under local anesthesia with sedation, or under general anesthesia. Patients return home the same day, and can resume most activities within a few hours with minimum risk of complications or side effects.

Recovery time is generally between one to three weeks, and results will be visible around the third post-operative week. A compression garment must be worn for at least 4 weeks post-surgery. It is normal to experience some swelling and bruising of the treated areas for several weeks after the liposuction procedure. These symptoms will continue to improve during the healing process, which may take 3 to 6 months. To find out if you’re a good candidate or learn more about liposuction techniques, book an appointment for an in-clinic consultation with Dr. Alex Viezel-Mathieu, plastic surgeon.