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| Abdominal Liposuction |
Many people who have excess fat in their abdominal region are using abdominal liposuction to remove the flab and help flatten their tummy. This procedure is also called lipoplasty or suction lipectomy and is one of the most commonly performed cosmetic surgeries in the U.S. Suction lipectomy often performed as part of a Tummy Tuck procedure., and both women and men undergo it.Some people are able to control abdominal fat with diet and exercise, but other people have a genetic predisposition to retain fat in the abdominal area. For some people who have been pregnant or have lost weight, abdominal fat is highly resistant to being shed, even with the proper diet and exercise, which may include tummy workouts. For these people, abdominal liposuction can help eliminate their abdominal flab. Surgeon Consultation The first thing you should do if you think you are a good candidate for tummy tuck liposuction is to find a board-certified plastic surgeon and undergo a consultation. The purpose of this consultation is for you and your doctor o determine if tummy liposuction is the right procedure for you, if you are a good candidate for it. You will discuss what you want to achieve with the surgery and how you would like to change and enhance your image. During your consultation, your surgeon should explain the entire procedure of abdominal liposuction and potential risks that are involved. A complete assessment of your condition and medical history will be taken by your surgeon. This includes your fat distribution, weight, muscle tone and skin type. Your diet, amount and type of daily exercise, allergies, medications you are taking will also be examined and considered. At the consultation your surgeon will inform you about various options. For some people liposuction alone is not sufficient to flatten their tummy, and they may require a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) as well. This is the time for you to ask questions and educate yourself about what works best for you. Before and after photos are often taken as well. After the initial assessment, your doctor will determine if the surgery is right for you. You may be asked to discontinue certain medications or even herbs for a few weeks prior to surgery. WHO IS a good candidate for In general, the ideal candidates for liposuction are men and women who are of relatively normal weight, but have isolated pockets of fat that do not respond to an adequate diet and exercise program. Think love handles or muffin tops. You should have firm and elastic skin tone and have excessive fatty deposits in certain body areas. Keep in mind that liposuction removes fat, not loose skin. Then Procedure - Abdominal Liposuction Before the surgery, some people are given only a local anesthesia while in other cases a general anesthesia is administered. For people that get a local anesthesia, the doctor sometimes also administers a sedative to calm the patient. The surgeon then marks the area on the patient’s abdomen where the fat will be removed, and then make a small incision along the mark. The doctor uses a long, thin elastic tube called a cannula to insert under the skin and remove the fat. The cannula uses the force of suction to dissolve and suction up the fat without harm to the surrounding tissues. There are a several techniques that are currently used for abdominal liposuction. An older technique that is rarely used today is called the “dry” technique. This method simply involved surgeons using the cannula with no prior injection of any substance in the area. They simply scraped and suctioned the fat, which resulted in blood composing a large component of the suctioned tissue; about 45% of what was suctioned out with this technique is blood. A newer method: Using wetting solutions. Wetting solutions are liquids that are infused into the area prior to liposuction surgery. They consist of a saline solution with epinephrine, and a local anesthetic. The epinephrine acts to constrict the blood vessels and minimize blood loss. The increase in safety and reduced loss of blood is largely the reason why this method is now widely employed. There are a few different types of wetting solution techniques used, the primary difference being the amount of fluids used. Various types of wetting solutions are used in liposuction. The "wet" technique – The volume of wetting solution in this method varies from 100-300 milliliters into each area of treatment. Approximately 20-25 percent of the aspirate is blood. The "super-wet" technique - The volume of fluid in the super wet technique is greater than that of the wet technique. In this method, the doctor uses about the same amount of wetting solution as the amount of fat to be removed. Less than 1 percent of what is suctioned out is blood when this technique is used. The tumescent technique – In this technique uses even more fluid than either the wet or super-wet techniques to suction out the fat. About three to six times the amount of fat to be removed is infused. Some doctors feel that because the tumescent technique swells the tissues, fat removal is more efficient, but other doctors feel that it is unsafe because too much fluid detracts from the surgeon’s ability to sculpt the area. Fat removal – suctioning techniques There are many different ways to vacuum out the fat during liposuction. Traditional suction-assisted liposuction. This method is a very basic, mechanical procedure in which the surgeon involves inserts the cannula through a small incision and uses a back and forth motion to break up the fat cells. At the same time the cells are he/she suctions out the excess fat. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction – Also called Vaser-assisted liposuction, the surgeon uses high-frequency sound waves emitting from a special cannula to break up the fat cells. This makes the fat cells easier to vacuum. This type of suctioning is the most recent and modern method of liposuction technology. Because the sound waves leave blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue intact, Vaser-assisted liposuction produces reduced bruising, swelling and pain relative to traditional methods. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction is especially effective for fibrous areas of the body, such as the male breast and the upper abdominal area. Power-assisted liposuction – In this method a special motorized cannula is used to break up the fat before vacuuming. Laser-assisted liposuction - Laser-assisted liposuction is similar to Vaser-assisted liposuction, but it used a laser probe to produce a burst of energy that breaks up and liquefies the fat before it is suctioned. This technique can cost hundreds of dollars more than some of the other techniques, and some doctors believe it may also tighten the skin. Other doctors, however, believe that there are no visible advantages and the procedure is more cumbersome. Body-jet liposuction – a relatively new method, body-jet liposuction does not break apart or liquefy the fat cells prior to the surgery. Instead, it uses jet-pulses of water to loosen the fat from the tissue during the surgery, while simultaneously vacuuming the cells. This method is sometimes called water-assisted liposuction. The cannula is specialized and is thin and fan-shaped. This method may be advantageous because there may be less trauma to the area, and a shorted recovery time compared to with traditional methods. Less fluid is used with Body-Jet liposuction tumescent liposuction, so it is easier for the surgeon to determine if any areas need additional suctioning. In addition, water-assisted liposuction can be performed with a local anesthesia, for smaller areas of fat removal. For larger areas, a general anesthesia will probably be necessary. Further research will be needed to determine the risks and benefits of this technique. The Results Many people can see results as early as one week after their abdominal liposuction surgery. In some cases, though, it could take up to six months for the final improvements to occur. Even though abdominal liposuction is an effective method to shed extra belly fat, proper diet and regular exercise essential to maintain its result.
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