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Liposuction

Liposuction Overview

Liposuction is a surgical procedure that removes excess fat from areas of the body via small, hollow instruments called cannulas. These instruments are inserted into tiny cuts (incisions) generally no bigger than one-quarter inch in diameter, where the fat will be removed. A medical-grade vacuum suctions tiny, broken up globules of fat into a canister. In tumescent liposuction, local anesthetic and other medications are injected into the fatty layer before suctioning excess fat.

Additionally, laser-assisted liposuction is available. While there are many forms of lasers, most combine one or two types of lasers that melt the fat before the tumescent portion of the liposuction. "Smart Lipo" was the first laser-assisted liposuction, but there are many others now available. Invariably, these are used alongside other methods, such as tumescent liposuction.

Methods of laser-assisted liposuction are named by the laser used in conjunction with the liposuction, such as Smart Lipo, Vaser, Laser Lipolysis, and other newer forms. Laser-assisted liposuction is not the same as LipoDissolve, or mesotherapy, which are non-FDA approved procedures that consist of materials injected into the areas of the fat with the hope that these areas will dissolve. Any laser used in addition to liposuction should be FDA-approved for just that task.



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Liposuction

Excess Skin Removal Overview

Obesity is a growing epidemic in developed countries throughout the world. Obesity causes significant public health problems, including an increase in type 2 diabetes, cardiac disease, and degenerative joint disease. A simple indicator of obesity is the body mass index (BMI), which is the weight of an individual in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. A total of 60 million Americans are obese (BMI >30), and 9 million Americans have severe obesity (BMI >40).

Over the short term, diets can be effective for losing weight; however, only about 5% of people maintain long-term weight loss from dieting. Because of this, many people who are severely obese have turned to bariatric surgery as a more definitive treatment. Approximately 100,000 bariatric surgical procedures were performed in the United States in the last year.

Bariatric surgery for weight loss in individuals who are obese is becoming a safer and more commonl...

Read the Excess Skin Removal After Extreme Weight Loss article »



Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine

Liposuction, Techniques: External Ultrasound-Assisted »

External ultrasound-assisted liposuction (XUAL) is a new technique that requires traditional aspirative liposuction after the application of high-frequency ultrasonic fields delivered through the skin into wetted tissue.

Read More on eMedicine »

Medical Dictionary