Liposuction

Remove Stubborn Fat For Beautiful Proportions

Liposuction or Lipoplasty is the cosmetic plastic surgery that helps slim and reshape specific areas of the body by removing excess fat deposits, improving your body contours and proportion, and ultimately, enhancing your self-image. Liposuction surgery can be used to treat stubborn fat pockets in many parts if the body including the abdomen and waist, thighs, hips, arms, neck and back, inner knee, chest, cheeks and chin. In some cases, liposuction is performed alone, in other cases it is used with plastic surgery procedures such as a facelift, breast reduction or breast augmentation, breast lift, tummy tucks, arm lift or brachioplasty and thigh lift, etc. Liposuction is not a treatment for obesity and is not a replacement for regular exercise and good eating habits. It is also not an effective treatment for cellulite, the dimpled skin that typically appears on the thighs, hips and buttocks. People with stubborn areas of fat and who exercise regularly are the best candidates for this procedure.

PROCEDURE:

In general liposuction plastic surgery is performed under general anaesthesia, although minor procedures can be performed under local anaesthesia with or without sedation. Dr. Brian D. Peterson will recommend which options suits your specific needs at the time of your consultation. Liposuction surgery is performed through small, subtle incisions through which a sterile liquid solution composed of local anaesthesia to reduce postoperative pain and bleeding is infused. This is called the tumescent technique. Then a thin hollow tube or cannula is inserted through these incisions to loosen excess fat using a controlled back and forth motion. The dislodged fat is then suctioned out of the body using a surgical vacuum or syringe attached to the cannula. Dr. Peterson incorporates Ultrasonic Assisted Liposuction, UAL, to emulsify fat, and diminish postoperative bruising and swelling.

RESULTS:

Your improved body contour will be apparent when the swelling and fluid retention commonly experienced following liposuction subside. With continued practices of healthy diet and fitness, the loss of excess fatty tissue should be permanently maintained. However, substantial weight gain can alter an otherwise permanent result.

RECOVERY:

Once your procedure is completed, a compression garment or elastic bandages may cover treated areas. These help to control swelling after liposuction and compress the skin to your new body contours. You will be given specific instructions that may include how to take care of the surgical sites, medications to apply or take orally to aid healing and reduce the potential for infection, specific concerns to look for at the surgical site or in your general health, and when to follow up with Dr. Peterson. 

ULTRASONIC ASSISTED LIPOSUCTION

Ultrasound assisted liposuction also like traditional liposuction, is most often used to reduce fullness in stubborn areas of fat from parts of your body that are not affected by exercise or diet. Ultrasonic assisted liposuction typically starts with the administration of some form of anaesthesia, which may include local, intravenous sedation, or general anaesthesia accompanied with the infusion of a saline solution into the area of the body where liposuction will be performed. The solution contains medication to minimize pain and bleeding. An ultrasonic small probe attached to a vacuum is inserted through a small incision into the fat layer beneath the skin. It’s moved around to emulsify the fat, which is then suctioned out of the body.

If you’d like to find out more about liposuction, ultrasonic assisted liposuction or cosmetic surgery in general please contact Dr. Peterson’s office at the Okanagan Health Surgical Centre in Kelowna today to schedule your consultation.