Recently, a patient came to our office who wanted to have liposuction. It was a doable case, and after the pertinent interview and evaluation, possible dates were discussed, and the patient reacted with surprise, since she had been told that “most liposuction was rejected”.
This is not so, since what really happens is that there are not many candidates who are suitable to undergo liposuction who come to the consultation.
Reasons why you cannot undergo liposuction
There are several reasons why liposuction is not recommended for a number of patients.
In the first place, overweight should be mentioned, since a patient who suffers from it cannot undergo surgery. Liposuction is not done to lose weight, but to eliminate fat accumulations in areas where neither diet nor physical exercise give results. In this case, the appropriate conditions will be those of a person with a correct and stable weight.
If weight changes are frequent, the result will be poor. If the intention is to lose fat all over the body and lose two or three dress sizes, then the patient should lose weight, not have liposuction.
In some practices megaliposuctions are performed with the objective of eliminating liters of fat in a single intervention, although personally I have never done it and will not do it. These are surgeries with a very high morbi-mortality in which several important organs are subjected to a lot of effort.
Another aspect that is not a reason for liposuction is cellulite. In fact, cellulite is not treated with surgery or virtually anything else, if there is a genetic tendency towards cellulite, you may have it all your life. I’m sorry to deliver this bad news.
Cellulite is a skin disorder that involves hormonal, metabolic and/or genetic and microcirculatory factors. It is, however, a superficial fat problem, whereas liposuction removes areas of fat in deeper areas.
Manual massages improve lymphatic drainage and the appearance of orange peel skin, as well as maintaining good hydration and regular physical exercise. However, when these practices are abandoned, the skin will return to its original cellulite state.
Thirdly, patients with excessive skin flaccidity should be mentioned. Apart from the fact that this is a factor that comes hand in hand with age, it is not operated. The skin can be removed with other treatments such as abdominoplasty or a facelift, but if liposuction is performed the result will be bad.
What can be done is to combine fat removal with some other treatment, such as liposuction accompanied by abdominoplasty or a thigh or arm lift.
Liposuction cannot be performed in patients with cardiac antecedents, renal problems… These patients will be discarded in the first visit.
Liposculpture vs liposuction
Liposculpture consists of something more than liposuction. It is about modeling the figure or the contour of the body with the extraction of fat, at the same time that this extracted fat is reinserted again in the body to give volume to deformed areas.
Over the years it is common that fat accumulates in some areas and that it is missing in others, giving an empty or aged appearance. As an example, it is enough to take the face of a child and that of an elderly person, clearly appreciating the rounded shape of the infant’s face as opposed to the more sunken aspect of the elderly.
At the corporal level, practically the same thing happens, since the curves of youth are lost little by little, appearing more blurred figures.
What is done is an aspiration of fat in the places where it is surplus and it is infiltrated in the places where it is needed. However, it should be noted that the infiltrated fat will be reabsorbed unpredictably, so asymmetries and interventions to preserve the desired volume are common.
Other aesthetic body contouring treatments
Cryolipolysis, liposuction, vibrolaser, traditional liposuction… These are terms that technically mean how fat is extracted. Thus, there are currently many devices that can perform liposuction, although each one has its own indications and each specialist chooses his own.
Used well, all of them provide good results, although if they are not used properly they can cause problems such as seromas, burns… Patients come to the consultation with magical promises that must be reversed many times.
This is why many liposuctions are rejected, as it is a very complex issue.
For more information, consult a specialist in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery.