WHAT IS LIPOSUCTION? (overview)

Having the body we desire isn’t always as easy as exercising regularly and eating well. For some patients, no matter how hard you work, there are simply certain areas of the body that won’t trim down. This could be due to any number of factors including genetics, hormones and age. Thankfully, liposuction is a surgical procedure that reshapes the body, giving you the body profile that you’ve always wanted.


Liposuction is designed to “spot reduce” the unwanted area of excess fat and improve the contour and shape of prominent areas of the body by removing unwanted fat. 

 

Whatever your reasons for surgery are, Dr. Giuffre personalizes the procedure according to your needs and treatment goals to obtain your ideal silhouette.


AM I A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR A LIPOSUCTION?

The ideal candidate for liposuction is someone who is in good overall health and maintains a healthy lifestyle, but has one or more problem areas with unresponsive fat deposits. The typical patient who is a candidate for a liposuction procedure has little or no excess skin over an area of fat prominence which produces the unwanted contour deformity. Often the patient has tried numerous diets and exercise regimes to reduce the unwanted fat, neither of which has successfully improved the cosmetic concerns. Alternatively, a patient may be happy with their weight and lifestyle, but have unwanted contour deformities caused by excess fat in areas that they would like to have removed without changing their weight.

**LIPOSUCTION IS NOT A PROCEDURE FOR AN OVERWEIGHT PATIENT TO REDUCE GENERALIZED EXCESS BODY FAT. IT IS VERY LOCATION SPECIFIC DESIGNED TO “SPOT REDUCE” A SPECIFIC ANATOMIC AREA TO IMPROVE THE CONTOUR IN THAT LOCATION.


LIPOSUCTION TREATMENT AREAS

Any combination of the listed areas below can be liposuctioned at one or more operative sittings:

  • Thighs

  • Abdomen

  • Arms

  • Back

  • Hips

  • Buttocks

  • Chest

  • Face

  • Calves

  • Ankles

If the areas and the amount to be liposuctioned are very large, then staging the procedures is done for patient safety and to reduce risks. This procedure may be performed alone, or can be combined with other cosmetic procedures, such as a facelift, breast reduction or tummy tuck, to achieve maximum results.

There are different ways of removing the fat, Dr. Giuffre uses the mechanical liposuction method using a PAL connected to a liposuction with varying cannula sizes after a tumescent infiltration of the fat in the area to be treated. This is the most traditional and reliable technique. 

  • Laser Liposuction: The cannula uses a laser light to heat the fat as it is liposuctioned.

  • Ultrasonic Liposuction: The cannula sends sound waves to disrupt the fat cells as they are suctioned. 

  • Cool sculpting:  This technique uses cold pads applied directly to the skin in an attempt to kill fat cells by creating a cold injury. No mechanical removal of fat or liposuction is done.

Chemical fat removal: this technique injects a chemical solution that destroys the fat cells. No mechanical removal of fat or liposuction is done.LIPOSUCTION CONSULTATION

Whatever your reasons for liposuction surgery, Dr. Giuffre personalizes the procedure according to your needs and treatment goals to enhance your natural silhouette.

Prior to your procedure, Dr. Giuffre will meet with you to discuss your goals and expectations for surgery. He will also review the details of your chosen procedure, the associated risks, and welcome any questions or concerns that you may have. This discussion is important,  helping you to communicate your vision with your surgeon in order to achieve the results you desire.  All post surgical results vary from patient to patient, as no two bodies respond to and heal from surgery identically.



LIPOSUCTION  PROCEDURE

Dr. Giuffre performs liposuction procedures at a private surgical suite adjacent to his Meadowlark Health Centre Office. The breast augmentation procedure lasts one to two hours depending on the number of areas being treated. Local Anaesthesia for smaller anatomic areas like the cheeks or neck is possible and is performed with general anesthesia.

The incision is placed in a natural crease close to the area being liposuctioned. The length of the incision is less than a centimeter (fingernail length). The incision is closed with a stitch that absorbs (disappears).  Any incision in the skin, regardless of where in the body will heal with a scar. The scar will mature (the scar color goes from red to pink to white and the scar softens and becomes pliable) which can take 1-2 years. 

Depending on how much solution is used, the technique is called “wet”, “super-wet” or “tumescent”.  The fat is removed using a blunt hollow tube (called a cannula) connected to a strong suction. There are many sizes and lengths of the 

Lastly, Dr. Giuffre will close the incisions and apply sterile surgical dressings over the sutured areas.


RECOVERY AFTER LIPOSUCTION

Before waking from the surgery, Dr. Giuffre will inject a long acting local anesthetic into the abdominal area to decrease any immediate abdominal discomfort from the surgery, and is treated with postoperative analgesic medication (pain killers) for up to a week. Patients taking prescription pain medication should not drive a car or operate machinery or sign significant documents while taking this medication.

Patients will have to arrange a ride and aftercare with a responsible adult. Patients are not permitted to leave unaccompanied or in a taxi. Patients driving a distance from Edmonton that exceeds 90 minutes, should make arrangements to stay overnight in Edmonton. The surgical centre does not have an overnight care facility. 

You will be seen the day following surgery by Dr.Giuffre and/or his nursing staff, if there are any future requests for an appointment, they are made directly with Dr. Giuffre's office and an expedited visit is arranged. Dr. Giuffre provides his home phone number to his cosmetic patients in case there is a patient concern.  In the rare instance that a patient requires hospitalization, Dr. Giuffre has admitting privileges to all of the major hospitals in Edmonton.

Recovery time ranges from one week to a few weeks. You should limit strenuous activity for at least four-six weeks. Dr. Giuffre will give you specific instructions for your individual recovery. 


RISKS OF LIPOSUCTION

With any surgery there are surgical and anesthetic risks.

Aside from the rare risks of an anesthetic event, some of the general and specific surgical risks for this procedure would include:

  • Scarring- minimum due to the very small incisions

  • Bruising – avoid Aspirin, Advil, or herbal medication that can cause increased bleeding

  • Swelling – postoperative swelling can vary but the immediate swelling can last up to 6 weeks before a patient starts to see the results of the fat reduction and 9 months before the final result is achieved

  • Infection - rare

  • Decreased sensation over the areas liposuctioned for 6 weeks or more

  • Discomfort

  • Time off work and exercise

  • Bleeding (hematoma) -rare

  • DVT (deep vein thrombosis = blood clots in the legs)

  • *Fat embolism

  • Excess skin or skin deformity: dent, dimple, wave, contour abnormalities 

  • *All  skin irregularities present before the liposuction surgery, like contour irregularities, dents, dimples, waves, cellulite, and stretch marks, in the skin will remain. These are not improved with liposuction.

  • asymmetry


*This list is not complete.



During the consultation with the patient, Dr. Giuffre will outline and explain each of the risks in detail.

 

FAQS

Do I have to lose weight before Liposuction?

If the patient feels they are overweight and wants to lose a certain amount of weight before proceeding with liposuction, this is fine, provided that the patient can maintain this new life style by permanently keeping off this lost weight.

What is critical, is not to lose weight through an aggressive diet and exercise regime that is not sustainable before the  liposuction procedure:

  • For example, if the patient loses 20lbs using an aggressive weight loss program before liposuction surgery but is unable to maintain this life style after surgery, the lost 20 lbs will be slowly regained over the next 6 months to a year. 

  • The surgical result will be inferior because the excess fat will redistribute to all areas of the body (this is determined by your genetics) including areas previously liposuctioned.

  • A common myth about liposuction is once the fat has been removed in an area, it will not return. This is not true. A general weight gain will add fat to all areas of your body, even areas previously liposuctioned.

  • Another myth is that the fat removed by liposuction from an anatomic area, will be the first to reappear, if the patient gains weight. Again this is not true. 

Dr. Giuffre advises that the patient comes into liposuction surgery at a weight that is a “no brainer weight”: a weight that is stable, that the patient has maintained for months or years based on their current life style.

There will be no extra ordinary effort for the patient to maintain this weight after surgery. The surgical result with then be maintained without changing the patient’s life style.

Is Liposuction surgery covered by AHS (Alberta Health Care) if I get a referral from by GP or if I am a massive weight loss patient?

A liposuction procedure is considered a cosmetic procedure by AHS and is therefore not covered, even with a referral from the Family Physician.

I am a massive weight loss patient. Can I have Liposuction ?

Patients that have lost a considerable amount of weight may have cosmetic issues with excess skin and fat involving the upper arms, upper thighs, back, hips and buttocks, and breasts. Please refer to respective sections under the FAQ for each of these areas.

  • Removing the fat alone using liposuction without addressing the excess skin that occurs in all patients with significant weight loss will make the deformity worse.

  • There are numerous surgical procedures to address each of the anatomic areas that require removal of both skin and fat to improve the contour and shape of that area of the body.

  • A consultation with Dr. Giuffre to outline the surgical options is recommended.