Real Beauty Magazine - Liposuction: Is It For You? 

Liposuction is no substitute for a healthy diet and regular exercise. Period.
But if used responsibly, this surgery can get rid of bulges that won't budge no matter how often you go to the gym or how carefully you eat. Even more encouraging, the fat cells the procedure removes never return. And while the fat that remains can expand, you're not likely to gain back the flab you lost.

How's It Done?
Liposuction is performed by dermatologists and plastic surgeons. These doctors use a cannula—a small, straw like tool attached to a suction machine—to literally suck fat from any part of your body you wish to slenderize: legs, hips, butt, stomach, arms, ankles, breasts, chin
and neck. While the procedure can usually be done in a doctor's office—it takes anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours—a brief hospital stay may be necessary, depending on how much fat the doctor removes. For instance, Helen Colen, M.D., FAGS, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Manhattan's Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, takes out anywhere from 2 to 12 cups of fat in her office. If she needs to remove any more, she does it in a hospital. Twelve cups might sound like a lot, but Colen says it's not unusual. Even fairly lean women who undergo the procedure can lose as much as 2 cups of fat per thigh. If they do their hips, abdomen and derriere as well, the fat count adds up. 

Is It Safe?
Next to nose jobs, liposuction is the most widely performed cosmetic procedure today. Doctors are using safer, more effective fat-suctioning techniques than ever before and have an even greater knowledge of the body's balance of fluids, which can go awry, causing you to go into shock, if the fat is vacuumed incorrectly. To prevent infection from developing afterward, many physicians prescribe antibiotics.
If the procedure is done in your physician's office, he or she will use local anesthesia, such as cryoanesthesia—the "wet technique." The doctor injects a cold solution that numbs the area and constricts the blood vessels, minimizing blood loss. "The wet environment also allows easier movement of the cannula so there's less damage," notes Howard Sobel, M.D., clinical attending dermatologist at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. More extensive operations also require general anesthesia and possibly even a blood transfusion, since fat has blood in it that will be taken out during the suction process. Patients may have to recuperate at the hospital for two or three days afterward.

How Much Does It Cost?
Liposuction of a single body part—say, your inner thighs—runs from $1,600 to $2,000, says Colen. The price can mount to $8,000 if you want to do your arms, belly and neck as well. Henry
Mentz, M.D., a plastic surgeon in Houston, adds that estimates generally don't include anesthesia, which runs to $700 or more, depending on what type and how much you have. And don't count on your health plan to cover the cost. Insurance companies seldom pay for cosmetic procedures.

How Soon Can I Wear a Bikini?
Plan on waiting at least a month before you flaunt your flesh. Depending upon how much fat is removed, liposuction patients can be black and blue and sore up to 10 days. They may also need to wear a body stocking or girdle for three or four weeks, to help their skin return to its original elasticity. And it's quite possible, doctors say, that the newly operated area will be lumpy for a few months, until the remaining fat redistributes.

Anything Else I Should Know?
Physicians are quick to point out that liposuction isn't for the obese, and Dr. Colen adds that people with especially thick skin often don't fare well because it droops once the fat underneath disappears. Check with your dermatologist to find out what type of skin you have. If it's thick but you want to go ahead with liposuction anyway, "you may have to take a tuck at a later time," says Colen. Someone with stretch marks or poor skin elasticity—skin naturally loses resilience as it ages— won't get good results either.
The best candidate? A young, healthy, physically active and relatively trim person who is realistic about what he or she can surgically achieve. Liposuction is not a wonder cure. It cannot eliminate cellulite, for instance, which has more to do with the way fat is positioned in the body than with how much of it exists. Nor does liposuction give a person license to overeat or retire her aerobics shoes. It's simply another tool to reshape your shape.

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Source: Real Beauty Magazine

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