To be a good candidate for liposuction, you must have realistic expectations about what the procedure can do for you. It’s important to understand that liposuction can enhance your appearance and self-confidence, but it won’t necessarily change your looks to match your ideal. Before you decide to have surgery, think carefully about your expectations and discuss them with your surgeon. The best candidates for liposuction are normal-weight people with firm, elastic skin who have pockets of excess fat in certain areas. You should be physically healthy, psychologically stable, and realistic in your expectations. Your age is not a major consideration; however, older patients may have diminished skin elasticity and may not achieve the same results as younger patients with tighter skin. Liposuction carries greater risk for individuals with medical problems such as diabetes, significant heart or lung disease, poor blood circulation, or those who have recently had surgery near the area to be contoured.

During your initial consultation, your surgeon will evaluate your health and describe the procedure in detail, explaining risks and limitations, making sure that you understand the procedure. The surgeon will explain which surgical techniques are most appropriate for you, based on the condition of the skin elasticity. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss your expectations. Liposuction procedures are performed at the Centurion Day Hospital under general anaesthetic. Your surgeon will give you instructions on how to prepare for surgery, including guidelines on eating and drinking, smoking, and taking or avoiding vitamins, iron tablets, and certain medications. We advise that you stop smoking two weeks before surgery and two weeks after surgery. This will help expedite your recovery period and encourage better healing on cellular level and to avoid unforeseen complications. The surgeon or the sister will take body measurements to order your compression garment for after surgery should it be recommended. After your consultation, you will be provided with a personalised quotation based on the recommendation of your surgeon. While you are making preparations, be sure to arrange for someone to drive you home after the procedure and, if needed, to help you at home for a day or two.

The time required to perform liposuction may differ, depending on the size of the area, the amount of fat being removed, and the technique used. There are several liposuction techniques that can be used to improve the ease of the procedure and to enhance outcome. Liposuction is a procedure in which localised fat deposits are removed to re-contour one or more areas of the body. Through a tiny incision, a narrow tube or cannula is inserted and used to vacuum the fat layer that lies deep beneath the skin. The cannula is pushed then pulled through the fat layer, breaking up the fat cells and suctioning them out. The suction action is provided by a vacuum pump. If many sites are being treated, your surgeon will then move on to the next area, working to keep the incisions as inconspicuous as possible.

At the Centurion Cosmetic Clinic our surgeons make use of advanced Vibro Liposuction technology when performing liposuction procedures. This is the most recent liposuction technique, it is safe, effective, and easy. The emulsion of fat principle allows the removal of the fat tissue without harming any other tissues. This results in a briefer recovery period. It also allows major surgical precision in difficult access areas or areas with great fibrosis (secondary liposuctions or male liposuctions). It is exempt from risks inherent to other liposuction techniques due to the fact that the cannulas are not heated or laser-based, avoiding the danger of skin necrosis.

Liposuction is assisted by compressed or medicinal air. A pneumatic engine is triggered by compressed air that enables the liposuction cannula to move in three different ways at once: fluctuation, rotation, and vibration. These three vibration movements of the cannula lead to the emulsification of the fat tissue. The emulsified fat will simultaneously be sucked out by the cannula.

This all leads to a faster recovery. The swelling and the oedema of the treatment area are also less. In addition, the vibration stimulates the collagen synthesis in the skin during the superficial liposuction, leading to better retraction of the skin after the procedure. Fluid is lost along with the fat, and it’s crucial that this fluid be replaced during the procedure to prevent shock. For this reason, patients need to be carefully monitored and receive intravenous fluids during and immediately after surgery.

Don’t expect to look or feel great right after surgery. Even though the newer techniques are believed to reduce some post-operative discomforts, you may still experience some pain, burning, swelling, bleeding and temporary numbness. Pain can be controlled with medications prescribed by your surgeon, though you may still feel stiff and sore for a few days.

After surgery, you will likely experience some fluid drainage from the incisions. To control swelling and to help your skin fit its new contours, you may be fitted with a snug elastic garment to wear over the treated area for six weeks. Healing is a gradual process. Your surgeon will probably tell you to start walking around as soon as possible to reduce swelling and to help prevent blood clots from forming in your legs. You will start feeling better after about a week or two and you should be back at work within a few days following your surgery.

You will see a noticeable difference in the shape of your body quite soon after surgery. However, improvement will become even more apparent after about four to six weeks, when most of the swelling has subsided. After about three months, any persistent mild swelling usually disappears and the final contour will be visible. Activity that is more strenuous should be avoided for about a month as your body continues to heal.

While liposuction procedures remove deep, localized fat from whatever areas of the body a patient wants re-contoured, it does nothing to remove or alter the appearance of cellulite, which lays in the subcutaneous layer of fat close to the skin’s surface. More and more plastic surgeons are finding that Endermologie® treatments are an effective post-surgical method of optimizing their patients’ surgical results.

THE REALITY OF CELLULITE AND LIPOSUCTION

There are limits to the volume of fat that can safely be removed from the body. Even when the most exacting safety measures are followed, removing fat can result in loose skin. Even if additional surgery isn’t needed to remove excess skin, any resulting loose skin will cause cellulite to become far more visible.

Because Endermologie® is non-invasive and involves the use of specialized equipment using the unique Mécano-Stimulation™ technique, it helps reduce swollen tissue and the appearance of cellulite. These soothing treatments also help reduce lymphedema, speed up recovery time and can help bring a healthy glow to the skin, further enhancing the liposuction results.

HOW ENDERMOLOGIE® BENEFITS PATIENTS

Plastic surgeons and physicians often recommend Endermologie® treatments in conjunction with liposuction surgery in order to minimize post-op pain and stiffness and improve fluids mobilization.

Endermologie® treatments aid in speeding the resolution of oedema, reducing variability of the early contours, and improving localized skin tone.* Regular exercise, a balanced diet, good hydration and a continued program of maintenance treatments are recommended.

While every patient’s post-surgical needs are unique, Endermologie treatments often begin several weeks following the surgical procedure. However, it may be months before Endermologie® treatments can begin in patients that had fat transferred to another area during the liposuction procedure.

Please contact DermaCare Institute at (012) 653-4658 or info@dermacare.co.za, for your free full body Endermologie® session once approved by the sister during your six-week follow-up appointment.