The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 03:58 PM PDT

Liposuction, in its many forms, is a measure to remove unsightly fat from certain parts of the body.

I HAVE seen many advertisements about liposuction. They assure me that it's safe and will only take the time I usually take for lunch! I've been wanting to reduce my double chin for some time. What is liposuction?

Liposuction is a surgical procedure. It removes excess fat from certain areas of your body via instruments called cannulas.

A small cut (incision) is made in the area of skin that covers the extra fat that you wish to have removed. The cut is usually no longer than 0.7cm.

Then the cannula is inserted into this incision. A medical vacuum (not the type you use to clean your floor!) then suctions tiny, broken up globules of your fat into a canister.

Is it painful?

Not really. Many liposuction procedures are accompanied by a local anaesthetic injected into your subcutaneous fat first, so you should feel only a mild discomfort at the very most. This is called the numbing process, and it is usually done slowly – over 30 minutes. Most people find it relatively relaxing.

Older liposuction methods require you to be put under general anaesthesia.

The entire procedure usually lasts about an hour.

b>Are there different methods of liposuction?

Yes. They include:

> Tumescent liposuction: Tumescent means swollen and firm. This type of liposuction involves the injection of a large amount of dilute lidocaine (a local anaesthetic) and epinephrine (to prevent surgical blood loss) into your targeted fat. There is no need for general anaesthesia.

> Dry liposuction: This is now no longer used because it involves general anaesthesia and is responsible for a lot of blood loss. This method was responsible for a lot of bad press that liposuction received (patients dying from it). Blood used to comprise 30% of the tissue that was removed by this method.

> Wet liposuction: Also required general anaesthesia in the past, but involved lidocaine and epinephrine injection.

> Ultrasonic assisted liposuction (UAL): this one uses tumescent fluid and a metal probe to deliver ultrasound waves into your excess fat.

Internal UAL requires the metal probe to be inserted into an incision. This also involves general anaesthesia or heavy sedation. Internal UAL is not usually done any more because of its many complications.

External UAL requires the metal probe to be applied to your skin but, unfortunately, may cause burns, and is not that encouraging, results wise. The US FDA does not approve UAL devices because of insufficient safety data.

Please note that many liposuction techniques like Vaser liposuction and power-assisted liposuction are all named after the type of device used, be it ultrasound or motor or compressed air.

> Laser liposuction (laser liposculpture or laser lipolysis): This is a technique that was developed because of the problems in traditional liposuction. You can also target body parts that are difficult to access otherwise.

Here, the cannula actually houses a laser which melts the fat away. Once the fat is in liquid form, it's drained from your body using tiny incisions, or it is sucked away. The incision made here is smaller.

The laser uses heat, and only targets fat cells, not muscle and tissue. This means less pain, less bruising, and quicker healing. It is very often used on the chin or face area.

The many names of laser liposuction are due to the many companies who have developed different laser techniques.

Is liposuction safe?

The golden question. Like any surgical technique, liposuction carries its risks.

The tumescent liposuction method has not resulted in deaths. But the traditional liposuction method has resulted in one out of 5,000 deaths.

Complications to look out for include pulmonary embolism (with traditional method), allergies to the medications used, fluid or blood collection after the surgery (haematoma or seroma), puncture of the abdominal cavity (for abdominal liposuction), worsening of the area treated, dimpling, or lumpiness in the area treated.

If you wish to get liposuction done, you need to go to a good surgeon who is well-versed in liposuction, especially in laser techniques because it can cause burns. Always ask a lot of questions and be mindful of the risks.

And try to lose weight first!

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Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Rabu, 22 Jun 2011

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health

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