Belly Liposuction

Liposuction eliminates in a lasting way the fat situated in different parts of the body and reduces the body shape. This method is relatively easy and efficient for flabby thighs and the buttock area because of the elasticity of the skin in those areas and the ability of the skin to shrink by itself. If there is no natural shrinking of the skin, it may be necessary to remove it. The tendency to accumulate fat in the area of the hips, buttocks and thighs can be hereditary. This fat is often unaffected by diets and physical activity. Fat accumulation on the outside of the thighs, commonly called flabby thighs are very resistant to diet change and physical activity.

However, it is very important for the patient to have a stable diet and regular physical activity. Liposuction is not to be considered as a slimming course GB, reducing treatment US; nor as a fat vaccine. The patient’s weight has to be stable before surgery.

Surgery procedure

First the surgeon will mark the areas where the fat needs to be removed, with a felt-tip. For this procedure patients can be placed under local anaesthetic, spinal, epidural, or general anaesthetic. The choice of anaesthetic depends on the extent of the surgery.

Duration of the Operation

A belly liposuction takes about an hour.

Outpatient or Inpatient

A belly liposuction is often performed at the clinic in an outpatient setting. If a significant amount of fat needs to be removed, medical treatment must be prolonged.

Remission Time

A large amount of inflammatition and bruising will disappear within 3 weeks. To accelerate the remission time it is recommended to resume usual activities as soon as possible.

If you are mostly seated at your job you can start work again after only a few days. If your job involves heavier work, you will need to prolong the remission time.

After 2 or 3 weeks, you will see changes that were brought about by the surgery, but the end results will only be seen in 6 to 12 months. The more fat that needs to be removed, the longer you will need to wait before seeing the final result. This is because the skin has to shrink more.

Further Information

Thanks to liposuction a proportion of the adipose cells will be eliminated in a permanent way. However, some of the remaining adipose cells will still be able to store fat, but in a less noticeable way. This does not mean that liposuction will keep you from putting on weight, nor will it stop fat storage in other areas of the body. So it is very important to pay attention to your diet and to have regular physical activity to control your weight. The natural ageing process influences the firmness and the elasticity of the skin. This is why the results of liposuction on a young person cannot be compared to the result on an older person.

Risks

Even if liposuction is the most practiced aesthetic surgery and succeeds in most cases, there are some risks and limits as for all surgeries.

In some cases patients suffer from sensation dysfunction in the surgery area, from excessive scarring (very rare) and from irregularity of the skin surface.

Some more severe complications can occur in rare cases:

• Thrombosis
• Infections
• Losing liquid with chocs -shock
• Pulmonary embolism
• Pulmonary oedema
• (Very rare) pulmonary perforation

The combination of the following factors increases the occurrence of severe complications:

• High amount of fat that is removed (more than 5% of the body weight)
• A second simulative surgery (duration of surgery)
• General anaesthetic
• Hypertension or cardiovascular disease
• Cardiac disease
• Diabetes