Do you exercise and
watch what you eat, but still just can’t seem to lose weight where you’d like
to? Belly fat, hips and buttocks, and thighs can be problem areas that might
need some professional help, such as liposuction.
Liposuction can contour
your body to bring it more in line with your vision of what you want to look
like. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, liposuction
(also known as lipoplasty and liposculpture) is one of the most popular cosmetic
procedures, and close to 400,000 patients had it done in 2012.
As popular as it is,
liposuction continues to generate misunderstandings. So, before you make a
decision to have a liposuction procedure, learn more about it as we debunk
these top 4 myths:
Myth
1. Liposuction isn’t really surgery. Perhaps
its popularity and commonality have helped perpetuate this myth. It is true
that the liposuction procedure often does not require general anesthesia the
way most other surgeries do, the incision areas are small, and you can often have
it performed as an out-patient, make no mistake, you are still undergoing
surgery.
The
procedure of liposuction actually breaks up fat which is then suctioned out.
The tissue that is involved is therefore disrupted significantly. And as with
all surgeries your body could experience adverse reactions during the procedure
or later during the healing process. Make no mistake that this is serious
surgery.
Myth 2. Good-by
cellulite. Contrary
to what many women believe – and wish – cellulite does not disappear by being
broken up and suctioned out with liposuction.
When liposuction is performed on the thighs, if there is an apparent
improvement with cellulite, it is generally a consequence of the area smoothing
out when the underlying fat has been removed. However, even this is not always
the result
Myth 3. The fat is gone – permanently.
This is actually partly true. What happens with liposuction is that the amount
of fat cells is reduced. But some fat cells necessarily must be left intact.
That doesn’t cause problems unless you gain weight, in which case the fat cells
that remained after surgery can get bigger. Weight gain can obviously affect
your liposuction outcome long-term.
Myth
4. An easy way to lose
weight. At first glance liposuction can look like a dieter’s
dream – just suction the fat away and you’ve lost your weight. However, nothing
could be further from the truth. Some of the confusion might be coming from the
discussion of what liposuction does with fat.
It’s
true that liposuction removes fat cells which in turn changes the body’s
contour and shape. But the actual weight of those fat cells that are suctioned
out is minimal, and can result in very little actual pounds of weight lost.
The
purpose of liposuction is to help get rid of visible fat pockets that
stubbornly refuse to be eliminated through diet and exercise. The risk of
gaining weight does not change, nor do problems associated with obesity such as
high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
What physicians call
“visceral fat” – the fat that accumulates around deep internal tissues and that
can’t be seen but adds to your weight as measured by the scale - is a threat to your health, and is not at all
affected by the liposuction procedure.
Now that you know more about
the truth of liposuction, you can still discuss the procedure with a Board
Certified plastic surgeon, and you might discover that it is, indeed, a good
choice for your body complaints. Areas on the body that are commonly treated by
liposuction include the belly, buttocks and hips, and thighs that we’ve already
mentioned, as well as “ love handles,” “saddlebags,” calves and ankles, and
even breasts, your back, underarms and the neck.
Alice Perkins
is a Customer Service Representative for http://www.drbucko.com, plastic surgeon Dr. Dennis Bucko and the Belladerma Cosmetic
Surgery and Skin Care Center located in La Jolla, CA. Dr. Bucko is Certified by
the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a Fellow with the American College
of Surgeons.
