How does tumescent liposuction work as far the amount of fat removed?

Question

Im curious about how the fluid is removed and if its included in the amount of fat the dr. removes. For instance in my case the dr. used 7 litres of fluid (approx. 15 lbs) for the procedure and then removed 17 lbs of fat. Does the 17 lbs include the 15 added with tumescent fluid or is that removed additionally? I still haven't lost the surgical lbs. which is why i'm wondering if my body is hanging on to the fluid or what's going on. Height & Weight at time of surgery 5'5 and 173lbs.

Marwan R. Khalifeh, MD · Answer

Aspirate refers to fat and fluid together; the fluid amount varies from patient to patient. Aspirate over the amount of 5000cc's is a surgery that is typically held in a hospital as an inpatient.  As far as fat content goes, you should remember that liposuction is not about weight loss as your body can replace fat from food over time.It would take about 3 months - 6 months from the time of surgery to get all the swelling out.

David Finkle, MD · Answer

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.

John A. Millard, MD, FACS · Answer

Tumescent Liposuction refers to the use of fluid containing a numbing medication called lidocaine that make the area relatively numb so that liposuction can be accomplished while you re awake during the procedure.  Advantages are that you can avoid some of the potential complications of general anesthesia, such as nausea and vomiting, etc.  Disadvantages include the fact that you need to use higher doses of lidocaine when doing tumescent anesthesia and surgeon are typically limited to only doing an average of two body areas at one time.  You can typically do around five body areas with general anesthesia.  Many patients only have one or two areas they want sculpted, though, and this makes tumescent anesthesia a great alternative.  It's less about the total amount of fat and more about how much surface area of your body that can be liposuctioned in one session!  I hope this helps!

How does tumescent liposuction work as far the amount of fat removed?

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How does tumescent liposuction work as far the amount of fat removed?

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Everything you need to know about Tumescent Liposuction

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.