Tumescent Liposuction Totally by Local Anaesthesia and Liposculpture

ABOUT FAT

Body fat of an adult tends to increase gradually over the years.  After the age of 30, an individual tends to add fat according to a genetically predetermined pattern.  This fat distribution is often resistant to exercising and dieting.  An example of genetically predetermined fat distribution which is resistant to dieting and exercise, is the fat that appears on the abdomen and hips of a woman after pregnancy.

For many people who have inherited an excessive accumulation of fat, liposuction is the only realistic means of significantly changing the body's silhouette.  In effect, liposuction is equivalent to being able to focus the effects of dieting to specific areas of the body.

WHAT IS LIPOSUCTION?

The concept of liposuction is surprisingly simple.  Liposuction is a surgical technique that improves the body's contour by removing excess fat from fatty deposits located between the skin and muscle.

Liposuction involves the use of a small stainless steel tube, called a cannula.  The cannula is connected to either a special suction syringe or a very powerful suction pump and inserted through small skin incisions, or tiny punch holes called adits.  The removal of fat is accomplished as the suction cannula creates tiny tunnels through the fatty layers.  After surgery, these tunnels collapse resulting in an improved body contour.

AREAS TREATED BY LIPOSUCTION

The most frequently treated areas in women are the abdomen, hips, thighs, knees, calves, ankles and beneath the chin.  In men, the most commonly treated areas include love handles, abdomen, breasts and the neck/chin area.

PERMANENCE OF RESULTS

Fat cells that are removed by liposuction do not grow back.  As long as the patient does not gain excessive amounts of weight, the new, more pleasing silhouette is permanent.  A woman who always tends to put weight on her thighs and knees, will find that after liposuction, these areas are less likely than other areas to accumulate fat when she gains weight.

WHO IS A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR LIPOSUCTION?

The best candidates for liposuction are in good health and have realistic expectations of liposuction.  You should hope for a 50% improvement anything greater would be a bonus.  There is no definite age or weight limit for patients who are "good candidates" for liposuction.  It is important to emphasize that liposcution is not a treatment for general obesity.   Liposuction surgery is not effective as a last resort for people who are unable to maintain a reasonable weight by dieting.  However, an overweight person whose weight has been stable for many years and has certain problem areas of fat may be an excellent candidate for liposuction.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE TUMESCENT TECHNIQUE

Although liposuction is a relatively new form of cosmetic surgery, there have been several recent improvements in the technique.  One of the most significant improvements has been the introduction of the Tumescent Technique, developed by Dr Jeffrey A Klein, M.D. in 1985.  It permits liposuction totally by local anaesthesia instead of general anaesthesia.  This technique is now considered the safest form of liposuction for removing very large amounts of fat because there is virtually no blood loss.  Not only has the Tumescent Technique proven to be safer than the standard technique using general anaesthesia but it also has proven to be less painful, with minimized post operative recovery time, and has produced optimal cosmetic results.

ADVANTAGES OF TUMESCENT LIPOSUCTION UNDER LOCAL ANAESTHESIA

1. Virtually no blood loss
2. Decreased bruising
3. Eliminates risk of general anaesthesia
4. Tumescent technique is less painful than general anaesthesia. With the Tumescent Technique infiltrating the local anaesthesia is associated with minimal discomfort.  Once the area has been completely numbed, liposculpture in the area is essentially painless, because the local anaesthesia persists in the treated area for more than 12 hours, there is little or no pain immediatley after the surgery.
5. Immediate Post Operative Recovery. With the tumescent technique, there is virtually no blood loss and as the total amounts of local anaesthesia is worked out exactly for your weight and size, there is rarely any nausea.  Patients are discharged home within an hour or two of the procedure.
6. Quick Return to Normal Activities. Because of the significant decrease in swelling and decrease in inflammation and pain after the surgery, patients are able to return to normal physical activities very soon after surgery.  There is no limitation to physical activity other than what common sense would dictate.  Some patients are able to return to jogging, golf, light aerobic exercise within a day or two after surgery.  Some patients do find the soreness after surgery more significant than others, but on the average, most patients are quite surprised at how quicly that are able to return to nomal activity.
7. Very Low Rate of Infection. The lignocaine that is used for the tumescent technique actually kills bacteria and it is standard policy to give antibiotics before and after the procedure.
   

EXPECTED RESULTS

The large volumes of dilute local anaesthetics infiltrated into the fatty tissue, causes the tissue to become swollen and firm or tumescent.  The tumescent technique magnifies the fatty area that is to be treated by liposuction.  If there is an area that has not been completely treated, this is more easily detected because the area is swollen and enlarged.  Thus the risk of post-surgical irregularities and unevenness is minimized.

With the tumescent technique very small cannulas are used.  This permits a more delicate and gentle approach to liposuction.  The liposuction cannulas which have been specifically designed for the tumescent technique are small in diameter.  These micro cannulas require a minimal amount of force in order to advance them into the fatty tissue.  As a result, this surgery is much more gentle and the surgeon can control the direction and position of the cannula with much more accuracy.  The ultimate result is a greatly reduced risk of inadvertently approaching too close to the undersurface of the skin and unintentionally causing irregularities.

Because the tumescent technique uses very small cannulas, only tiny incisions or tiny punch holes are required.  These are so small that no stitches are used.  The wounds heal by themselves and virtually disappear with time.  Sometimes, in darkly pigmented individuals, some hyper-pigmentation of the sites can occur.  These generally fade with time.