Both men and women commonly tend to accumulate unwanted fat deposits in specific predetermined areas, despite maintaining a healthy weight with regular exercise and proper eating habits. In women, the fat settles primarily in the lower tummy, the hips, the upper inner thighs, and the inner knees. In men, it's the "love handles," involving the mid-abdomen, sides, and back. Of course, other areas may also be involved. Liposuction, also called liposculpture or lipoplasty, is a type of plastic surgery used to remove these unwanted fat deposits. Liposuction procedures can be performed with or without skin resection and muscle tightening (such as occurs in a tummy tuck). With the modern techniques available to our Bay Area practice, such as tumescent and ultrasonic liposuction, virtually all areas of the body are now accessible to these re-contouring methods.
When skin elasticity is reasonably good, localized fat deposits can be reduced and reshaped through liposuction. The result is a thinner, more attractive overall appearance. As experience has increased and surgical techniques improved, liposuction has become the most commonly performed procedure in plastic surgery. However, this technique is not a substitute for dieting and exercise, and liposuction is not generally intended as a treatment for obesity.
Dr. Gary Friedman utilizes the "tumescent" liposuction technique in virtually all cases, reserving the added ultrasonic liposuction technique when specifically indicated (where the fat is particularly fibrous). By instilling large volumes of a diluted anesthetic solution into the areas to be liposuctioned, a profound anesthesia is produced, so "twilight" rather than general anesthesia is now a very acceptable option for liposuction surgery. With the tumescent liposuction technique, bleeding is reduced to a minimum, so the need for blood transfusions is virtually eliminated. The tumescence also results in the fat being more easily removed during liposuction, thereby allowing for very tiny incisions and subsequent scars that generally become practically unnoticeable. Finally, this refined liposuction technique produces smoother overall contours than ever before. We can also perform ultrasonic liposuction at our office in The Bay Area, if appropriate.
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