Liposuction continues to be a popular field within plastic surgery. What is liposuction?
There has certainly been a big boom in liposuction over the past 10 years and it’s one of the most common types of aesthetic surgery.
Liposuction is a procedure where small pockets of fat in targeted areas of the tummy, legs, buttocks, hips or waists are broken down and ‘sucked’ away with a superfine cannula, and therefore permanently removed.
What type of person should consider liposuction as a means of changing their body shape?
Liposuction is an aesthetic intervention intended to improve the silhouette and not to achieve general body weight reduction. Ideally, the patient should be within a normal weight range and suffering from genetic- or age-related fat pads that won’t disappear despite strict dieting or physical exercise.
New methods of liposuction have become available in the last few years, for example, laser lipo, smart liposuction, Vaser liposuction, tumescent liposuction and many more. For someone with no medical expertise, it’s difficult to understand the differences and which is the best method. Which type of liposuction do you recommend and apply?
The basic principle for all these methods is the same: fat is removed with a cannula. The single techniques are comparable and offer similar courses of treatment and results.
Often, the perceived differences are more about marketing than any essential advantages.
At our centre, Klinik Pyramide am See, we mainly apply the tumescent method with waterjet-assisted liposuction, with great success.
„ The better the skin elasticity, the better the final result.Dr. George
Are there scars or other aesthetically unappealing marks that remain after the liposuction surgery?
The cannulas are inserted into the fat pads through tiny, millimetre-long cuts. These heal completely and in cases of ‘normal scarring’ become invisible within a few weeks.
However, the elasticity of the skin is crucial to achieving good results. After a liposuction procedure, the excess skin has to shrink itself by natural means. The better the skin elasticity, the better the final result.
How much does liposuction cost?
A liposuction procedure costs between 4’000 and 12’000 CHF – depending on the number of liposuctions, and the size and position of the individual fat pads.
Tummy tucks are another option for flattening the abdominal area. Is a tummy tuck an adequate alternative to a liposuction treatment?
No. A tummy tuck is not an alternative for liposuction. It is done instead of a liposuction if skin elasticity is insufficient.
A tummy tuck can also be the result of an incorrectly-administered liposuction, in the cases where there is too much excess skin which has to be streamlined in a later procedure.
