What Liposuction Can and Cannot Do For You

Readers and clients alike have been asking me what I think about all the liposuction publicity that came out two weekends ago. Many of them felt that I should speak out on what liposuction really can and cannot do. They also wanted me to research on the safety of the operation.

Well, it may surprise my readers and clients to know that I am not against liposuction. There have been times when I have agreed with someone that, yes, liposuction would be the only option left if they wanted to permanently remove their small bulges that are resistant to diet and exercise.

However, I am against the abuse of the operation as an "easy way out". I do not believe that liposuction is for everyone or should it be the first line of defense against fat. In my line of work, I have met many individuals who have had it done. I have seen good results, but I have also seen disastrous ones.

Liposuction can sculpt body into more symmetrical shape.
Exercise and diet can only go so far in changing body shape. Even with a lifestyle of consistent exercise and diet, usually small pockets of stubborn fat remain. If you lived in an era of famine and an unreliable food supply, that stubborn fat could be your ticket to survival. However, in these days of supermarkets and fast food joints at every corner, some people feel it has become redundant.

Liposuction or liposculpture was meant to sculpt the body into a more pleasing and symmetrical shape by removing small areas of fat. The key word is small. A plastic surgeon on the Internet said that you are a good candidate for liposuction if you can draw a small circle with a pen around the fat to be removed. Liposuction was not meant as a means of weight control or to remove large areas of fat. It will not turn a fat person into a thin one. Only diet, exercise, and the right set of genes can do that.

Liposuction cannot stop you from gaining weight.
According to Christine Rodgers, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in Denver, Colorado, "Liposuction doesn't mean permanent fat removal in all cases. Some people may get the fat back in the same place or elsewhere, depending on their overall body metabolism. One cannot say, "Well, have liposuction and you will not have to worry. You can eat anything you want." because that is just not true. You do have to modify your diet and watch what you eat because it is entirely possible to get fat again".

Dr. Rodgers co-authored a study at The University of Colorado that assessed the effects of liposuction in women over a period of time. Her study showed that the localized effects are only maintained for six to twelve months after the operation unless the women practiced proper diet and exercise habits. Some of the women in the study gained the fat back after only three months. The painful truth is that you cannot escape from eating properly and exercising regularly to maintain a slim figure, whether you have liposuction or not.

Liposuction cannot get rid of cellulite.
Dr. Rene Valerio, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon at St. Luke's Hospital, says that ordinary liposuction techniques cannot remove the appearance of cellulite. The problem is cellulite is a dimpling of the skin's surface due to ripples of fat and fibrous connective tissue beneath it. Dr. Valerio says that if the liposuction is only done on the deep or lower layers of the skin, it even worsens the dimpling effect and waviness of the skin since the cellulite abnormality occurs in the superficial or upper layers of the skin.

Liposuction cannot tone your muscles or make you fit.
Removing excess fat around the abdominal area may give you a flatter looking tummy, but you will still have flabby shapeless abs unless you tighten the muscles underneath through exercise. Liposuction is also no substitute for the other benefits of exercise - stamina, better sleep at night, lower blood pressure, etc.

Is it safe?
The old "dry" liposuction method had a high risk of excessive bleeding, sometimes requiring blood transfusions. The newer "tumescent" technique has reduced this risk and is quite safe in the hands of a well-trained doctor.

However, since doctors are no longer afraid of blood loss, the method has created a new risk - the temptation to remove too much fat in one sitting (conservative doctors only remove 5 - 7 liters of fat). In the U.S., there are reports of tumescent liposuction deaths due to fluid overload and Xylocaine (a local anesthesia) toxicity.

According to an article published in Allure magazine last year, Dr. Jeffrey Klein, the dermatologist-creator of the tumescent technique, is concerned with the abuse of the procedure. He said, "Unlimited liposuction is not a very safe thing to do. The threshold beyond which it becomes dangerous isn't very clear. I don't know what the limit is, but I know people are dying and are having serious complications because of it."

Klein has asked the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to act as a registry for reporting fatal and potentially fatal events that occur during or soon after (within thirty days) outpatient operations.

Ironically, it was Klein's appearance on the 20/20 show about three years ago that started the current liposuction trend. Klein was shown doing liposuction on a patient who was casually talking on the telephone. This may have given the mistaken impression to millions of viewers that liposuction was as simple as having a massage over your lunch hour. It also inspired doctors from other specialties aside from plastic surgery to jump on the liposuction bandwagon and perform the surgery in their clinics instead of hospital operating rooms.

The recent spate of deaths has roused the California State Medical Board to form a committee to investigate the safety of liposuction and other cosmetic surgery, particularly in outpatient facilities like clinics.

I feel that our own medical community should do the same for the protection of consumers and to prevent deaths like the one of Janet Ang, the airline stewardess who died while undergoing liposuction in a small clinic. Even though liposuction is not brain surgery, I personally feel that it should be performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon in a hospital operating room. I am a great believer in Murphy's Law ("what can go wrong, will go wrong") and would rather be in a place where they not only have the proper equipment but also experienced medical personnel to revive me in case anything goes wrong.

Liposuction should be the "icing on the cake".
The best liposuction results I have seen were done on individuals who already had a lifestyle of proper diet and exercise. They had no problem maintaining their improved figures because they already had good habits. They used liposuction as the finishing touch in sculpting their figures.

The worst liposuction results I have seen were done on people who were "couch potatoes" before and after the operation. Some of them have had it done twice but they are still as fat as ever. If you are considering liposuction, ask yourself honestly if you have really done everything possible to remove your bulges, or are you just taking the lazy way out.

Continue reading here: Stretching During The Warm-Up May Not Prevent Injury

Was this article helpful?

0 0