Can I get lipo under local anesthetic for a small amount of belly fat? (Photo)

From your photographs, it seems he would be an excellent candidate for liposuction under local anesthesia. Tumescent anesthesia with very small cannulas should be able to reduce your localized fat with a very smooth contour. Recovery is fast and you should be able to resume your normal activities within a day or two. It would be your choice whether to use a compressive garment or not.

You may be a candidate for Liposonix, Coolsculpt, and tumescent liposuction to sculpt your lower abdomen. The liposculpting may improve your side, oblique, and anterior profile. Best, Dr. KaramanoukianLos Angeles

Dear SupercIn my opinion, although it is true that you can get liposuction under local anesthesia, keep in mind that it limits the areas that can be treated and it does effect the quality of liposuction performed. I believe that you should consider liposuction under sedation in an accredited office/surgical center or hospital with a board certified plastic surgeon. That would allow the surgeon to be thorough and provide a uniform and shapely liposuction procedure for you in a safe envronment.Be aware of terms like micro-liposuction, micro-liposculpture, lipo-sculpture vs liposuction. There is a business side to the practice of aesthetic medicine that sometimes leads to misrepresentations....

You appear to be an excellent candidate for tumescent lipo.  However, because you are so thin, I find that tumescent is not enough to perform the procedure comfortably and get the superior results that you deserve.  The boundaries of where the tumescent fluid is injected are not numb, so it would make it very difficult to feather these areas in someone who already looks as good as you do.  Your surgery would need to be performed with finesse that can be better achieved with the tumescent fluid and general anesthesia.  This way the surgeon can concentrate on smoothing the transition areas between the fat and the areas that don't need suction without causing you discomfort.  All of these techniques are surgery.  You have already had two failed attempts at trying to have spa type treatments.  I would suggest you find a board certified plastic surgeon with privileges to perform the procedure under general anesthesia and have it performed in a certified outpatient surgery center.  This will give you the results you are looking for.

For smaller areas, liposuction under local anesthesia is reasonable.  You appear to be a very good candidate for liposuction. Your choice of surgeon will be the key factor in your result. Kenneth Hughes, MDLos Angeles, CA

You definitely can get liposuction under local anaesthetic, and patients like you who only want a few small areas treated are ideal for this. When you decide to get a formal consultation, make sure to seek out a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area to see what the best option for you is.

Dear SuperC,Absolutely!  I agree that undergoing general anesthesia is "too much of a procedure and too high of risk" given the small areas shown in your photos.  You are an excellent candidate for Smartlipo, which is laser-assisted, targeted liposculpture performed under local (tumescent) anesthesia.  This method was developed by a Dermatologist in southern California,  Dr. Jeff Klein, and he now has many disciples in the US (including myself).Good luck!

Local anesthesia works quite well for liposuction of just a few small areas and especially would be appropriate in your situation.  No need to gave general anesthesia for the small amount of lipo you want.

From your photos, you appear to be a great candidate for the tumescent local liposuction with the micro cannulas of the full abdomen and flanks (hips) for roughly $5500 on special. It is easy to undergo and with amazing results. Sincerely, David Hansen,MD

Liposuction is the suction removal of subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat is located just below the surface of the skin and above the muscles and bones. It doesn't remove all of the fat, but it does remove the majority of the fat. The perfect candidate is at or near their ideal body weight and has localized areas of fat that are out of proportion to the rest of the body. It is not a weight reduction technique. It can be used on any area of the body, but it relies on the skin redraping after the fat is removed. So, if you have loose skin, you may end up with wrinkles or folds after the surgery. Some areas respond better to liposuction than others, the lateral thighs always look nice, the inner thighs and arms, not so much. The tummy depends on how loose the skin was to begin with. It does not remove or improve stretch marks. There are many different terms used for liposuction:Tumescent liposuctionPower liposuctionLaser liposuctionVaser liposuctionSmart liposuctionUltrasonic liposuctionAnd many, many more. All these techniques vary a little, but the bottom line is that the fat is removed by high powered suction. A small tube or cannula with multiple holes at the end is hooked to a suction device. The cannula is moved rapidly back and forth to remove the fat through very small incisions in the skin. All blood vessels, nerves, muscle, bone and skin is left alone, just the fat is removed. Large amounts of fluid are placed in the subcutaneous fat before the suction begins to reduce bleeding and to numb the skin, this fluid is referred to as tumescent fluid and consists of a balanced salt solution mixed with adrenalin and a local anesthetic. There are 3 choices of anesthesia:Local anesthesia (the patient is awake)Local with sedation (the patient is given a mild sedation)General anesthetic (the patient is asleep)The choice is based upon an agreement between the patient and the surgeon. Make sure you consult with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who operates in a nationally accredited surgery center and offers board certified anesthesia. If the price you are quoted seems abnormally low, please do your research and find out why, you do not want to be surprised the day of your surgery!Liposuction can be combined with many other procedures; tummy tuck, breast reduction, thigh lift, arm lift, neck lift and is an essential part of a Brazilian Butt lift (this is where the fat comes from!) All of my patients are treated post operatively with a compression garment that is worn for 2 weeks and 5 Endermologie sessions that start 3-4 weeks after the procedure. Endermologie is a non surgical massage technique that helps to smooth out the results of the surgery to help prevent wrinkling and rippling of the skin.Liposuction is not a very painful procedure and recovery is usually quick. Most people are back to work in 3-5 days and back to vigorous exercise in 2 weeks. Of course, if more areas are treated, there will be more pain post operatively and a longer recovery. I was back to work 3 days after my abdominal liposuction and no one knew any better!The cost varies not only from city to city, but from patient to patient. The more areas that are treated, the higher the cost. In the midwest, typical liposuction prices varies from $3,000-6,000 total.Based on the information presented I would recommend the following:Lipoplasty of the abdomen.Good Luck!