Liposuction Surgery

Liposuction is a powerful plastic surgical procedure that began as a simple tool to remove excess fat. The surgery has developed over years to include much more such as liposculpture and fat grafting.  It is most useful for patients who have localized areas of fat and good quality skin that will retract after removal of the fatty volume. These tend to be younger patients of normal or near normal weight and who have not recently lost a considerable amount of weight. Liposuction can be useful for almost any area of the body. The areas often addressed with liposuction include the hip and thigh regions, lower abdomen, and flanks.  We also use liposuction with great success in areas of the face and neck such as the lower chin/upper neck region. One added advantage of liposuction is that it provides fat that can be used to fill areas that require more volume. In the facial region this is often the areas of the nasolabial folds and cheeks. Large volume liposuction can provide enough fat to graft areas such as the buttocks and breasts.

Surgery Results

The results of liposuction range from very subtle to profound . As mentioned, the  best candidates are those patients who have a very well localized area of fat accumulation and they will have the most obvious improvements.  Even subtle changes can make a big difference in your appearance. However, the results are often not evident immediately as there is swelling and inflammation after surgery that must resolve. In addition, for a good result a compression garment must be worn. Because the technique involves injection of a large volume of dilute local anesthetic most patients are  quite comfortable after surgery. Some mild to moderate soreness persists for a few days or week but light activity and exercise is encouraged in the early post op period.  Finally, most people can return to work within a few days or a week.

Liposuction is usually considered a cosmetic surgery. More information about the financial arrangements for cosmetic surgery can be found on the Consultation Page.

I would be happy to provide you with more information or answer any other questions and can be contacted by phone at 1-216-778-2245 or by email at drbramkaufman@case.edu