Liposuction Q&A
71%
WORTH IT RATING
"Worth It Rating" shows the % of consumer reviewers that stated the procedure was "Worth It" or not. See more RealSelf Worth It Ratings or Add Your Review
494 Reviews
Liposuctionbefore & after photos
View Before and Afters

Average Liposuction Cost: $5,150

Learn about Liposuction

2,769 people and 782 doctors are talking about Liposuction

Get Free Email Updates

Which Type of Liposuction is the Least Painful?

asked 8 months ago by cherry_pez in New York, NY
Latest answer by Robert C. Langdon, MD
Question viewed 269 times
Tags: pain, painless

I'm considering having smart lipo or vaser lipo on my inner knees, stomach and back areas. The only final thing putting me off right now is the fear of the pain. From what I've read, it is a really painful experience. I was just wondering if all Liposuction is the same in this respect or is one slightly less painful than others? Also, are patients allowed to take painkillers beforehand. Thanks :)

8 answers to Which Type of Liposuction is the Least Painful?

+3

Painless Liposuction

Tumescent liposuction, skillfully performed, can be totally painless during the actual liposuction procedure. A painless procedure is possible if the tumescent local anesthetic solution is distributed throughout 100% of the fat volume that is subjected to liposuction. Administering the local anesthetic can also be virtually painless. I wrote the article "How to Maximize Patient Comfort During Tumescent Liposuction" (available at the "Web reference" link below) to... more
Robert C. Langdon, MD

Guilford Dermatologic Surgeon

www.langdoncenter.com

+3

Which Type of Liposuction is the Least Painful?Answer:

The various techniques ALL involve passing a metal tube back and forth under your skin…which kinda hurts! What is different is what you do to the fat before you suck it out with a metal tube that kinda hurts! Tumescent solution softens and numbs the area really well before suction and Vaser and Laser use Tumes. Technique first, and then melt the fat before suction. But I find that some areas are more tender than others. I have found the thighs to be the most tender but still not too... more
John J. Corey, MD

Phoenix Plastic Surgeon
+2

Tumescent liposuction is the least painful.

Hi. 1) The first thing that will reassure you is that liposuction in general, compared to other kinds of surgery, has very little pain. Each area is a little different. you should have almost no pain in the back, and a little more discomfort in the abdomen. The incisions are tiny. 2) We think tumescent liposuction is best for a number of reasons. There is by far the most successful experience with it. Because fluid that contains local... more
George J. Beraka, MD

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon
+1

Pain control during surgery

The least painful surgery is one done under general anesthesia. Every hour of every day someone in the world is having surgery on their heart, bowels etc and not feeling it because they are under general anesthesia. My response to your question/post does not represent formal medical advice or constitute a doctor patient relationship. You need to consult with i.e. personally see a board certified plastic surgeon in order to receive a formal evaluation and develop a doctor patient... more
Aaron Stone, MD

Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
+1

Which Type of Liposuction is the Least Painful?

Pain is more a patient preference issue. Even though most liposuction techniques have low levels of pain, if you are one of the patients that have a very low pain tolerance or threshold than expect some level of pain. Post operative pain medications are available. In my personal experience I believe Smart Lipo does offer less pain post treatment than VASER lipo. But that is my limited experience of over 1,000 cases. As for which lipo technique is better seek in person evaluations from... more
Darryl J. Blinski, MD

Miami Plastic Surgeon
+1

Which Type of Liposuction is the Least Painful?

Dear cherry_pez, Liposuction can usually be performed with minimal discomfort. For patients who want smaller amounts of liposuction performed on a limited number of areas and have normal pain tolerance, liposuction can usually be done comfortably using local tumescent anesthesia combined with oral medications. The initial injections of the local and tumescent anesthesia will sting, but the areas injected should be dull and numb afterwards. During the procedure, there may be some... more
Larry Fan, MD

San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
+1

Expect little discomfort with liposuction

I am not sure what you have been reading but liposuction should not be painful. Despite marketing hype and various claims, there should not be much difference between the various technologies used. The use of tumescent anesthesia is routine but I feel that the patient's experience is better if we also use intravenous sedation. As for laser lipo, more than 90% of plastic surgeons experienced withdoing lipo felt that it had little if any benefit in a recent survey. Choose the surgeon... more
Richard Baxter, MD

Seattle Plastic Surgeon
+1

Liposuction pain

Liposuction is one of the least painful procedures plastic surgeons perform. It involves very small incisions and insertion of a small cannula. I perform liposuction of multiple areas under intravenous sedation so no preop pain medication would be required. Many over the counter pain meds could have the effect of increasing bruising so you should not take them or any other medications without the knowledge of your plastic surgeon. The idea of light sedation is to make thr procedure... more
Robert L. Kraft, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon

Ask a question