History of Liposuction:
The liposuction procedure is a relatively new technique ion the cosmetic surgery field. The first ever liposuction procedure occurred in 1926 but the outcome was not pretty. The doctor was a Mr. Charles DuJarier and after performing his newly developed liposuction technique on a French model, the model developed gangrene in her leg forcing Dr. DuJarier to halt any further inquiries into the liposuction procedure as a valuable technique for shaping a person’s contour.
While Dr. DuJarier stopped any further inquiries into the liposuction procedure, over the next couple decades many other surgeons around the world began taking a closer look into the ability to reshape a person’s body contours through the suctioning of fat cells from the patient’s body.
Throughout the 1960, while not very popular and considered to be a very crude procedure, the technique was brought back to life. The downfall of the procedure was its ability to invoke bleeding as well as infections and possibly death. It was not until the early 1980’s when another French surgeon, Dr Yves-Gerard Illouz came out into the cosmetic surgery field with his all new Illouz Method of liposuction which is very close to the procedure that is commonly used today.
Throughout the 1980’s American surgeons, Lillis and Klien began experimenting with the possibilities of liposuction in the real world of cosmetic surgery and developed what is now known as the tumescent liposuction technique.
In the following decade with advances of technology on hand, it was further redeveloped to incorporate ultrasonic vibrations as these were found to help minimize the amount of bleeding and excessive internal trauma caused by the tumescent technique.
The next step of the liposuction techniques will not even be liposuction but rather the use of lasers to help with the contouring of a person’s body. The use of lasers constitutes the procedure as a thermal lipoysis rather than a liposuction, but the results are the same none the less and the pain and side-effects associated with the ultrasonic liposuction will be almost non-existent.
Risks of Liposuction:
Do to the trauma caused by the vacuuming of fat cells which may still be in tight contact with other cells like nerves and blood vessels, the chances of a risk occurring in association with any of the liposuction techniques is probable. In most case, the average patient will have to deal with bruising as well as swelling which of course are a direct result of the trauma which is induced during the procedure.
There is also the possibility of scaring even though the incisions are relatively small. One has to keep in mind that depending on the part of the body receiving the liposuction, the skin may stretch under normal activities which can in effect widen the scar tissue while it is still young and forming.
You may also feel a bit of pain associated with the procedure as well as the possibility of being numb in certain places depending on the amount of trauma caused on the various nerve endings in the treatment area
Benefits:
When it comes to the liposuction benefits, there are both emotional as well as physical benefits associated with undergoing the procedure. Undergoing the liposuction procedure is not just changing the way that you look on the outside, but also it changes the way that you perceive yourself which in effect increase your self esteem and brings in a new light into your life.
It is important to remember that liposuction is not to be considered a miracle cure, and unlike a gastric bypass procedure, most persons who are excessively overweight will be turned down for the liposuction procedure.
This procedure is done as a means of re-sculpting the underlying fat in you body and thus creating a better look. If you have a “beer belly” and cannot get those six-pack abs you have been attempting to get, then a liposuction can help you.
Liposuction Recovery:
The recovery period of the liposuction procedure actually depends on the amount of work that you underwent during the procedure. The more fat cells that we carved off and sucked away, the longer the recovery period will be for you. While most patients are able to return to normal daily activities not including extreme exercising within only a couple weeks following the completion of the liposuction procedure.
You will be on a variety of prescription drugs that are designed to prevent a number of potential complications and side-effects including pain as well as having to deal with both swelling and bruising in the treated region.
You will need to follow your surgeons explicit instructions accordingly to ensure that the recovery period is both quick and safe. These instructions will include things like making sure that you stay hydrated throughout the entire recovery process as well as ensuring that you get a substantial amount of daily rest so that the body can safely recover from the procedure.
Cost:
The costs associated with the liposuction depend on the location that the procedure wile b performed. For example if you are planning on undergoing a liposuction procedure on your arms, you can expect to pay anywhere from $1,500 all the way up to $5,000 for the procedure. Furthermore, if you want both the lower and upper abdomen done, you can expect to pay between $3,000 and $7,500 for the full procedure.
Financing:
While the costs of the liposuction procedure may appear to be high, as compared to other forms of cosmetic surgery they are in fact fairly low. Not withstanding this fact, there are several financial institutions which are more than willing to offer financing for the liposuction procedure. Before you opt for a loan, you might want to check with your surgeon to determine if he or she has the ability to offer any form of in-house financing for your procedure.
Will Insurance Cover Procedure:
Most insurance companies will not cover the costs of the liposuction procedure, but there have been some rare cases that differ such as some insurance companies paying a partial amount for a breast reduction procedure. Check with you insurance company before raising any hopes though for more clarification.
Who is a Candidate For Procedure:
Basically, if you are not excessively overweight and are at least 18 years old and have tried unsuccessfully to loose weight in the region you plan on having the procedure performed on then you might make a good candidate for the liposuction procedure.
Anesthesia:
In general, the average liposuction procedure is usually only done under a local anesthetic since the saline solution used to loosen up the fat cells to be removed also has an anesthetic in it.