Aesthetic Surgery

Liposuction

1) Who is a good candidate for liposuction?
· Patients with localized fat deposits, normal- or near normal-weight, since liposuction aims at sculpting the body silhouette and not at reducing weight.
· Young patients, with good skin elasticity, since liposuction does not remove skin and the presence of excess skin after surgery will depend on the skin ability to retract.

2) What kind of anesthesia is used?
It depends on the amount of fat to be taken and on the extension of the area to be worked upon. Local anesthesia may be sufficient, with or without sedation, but also peridural or general anesthesia may be used.

3) What about the scars? Are they big? Where are they located?
The scars are rather small, 5 to 10 mm, and are meant to be hidden by the swimming suit, or may be located inside the navel or in the breast crease. Usually they are perfect and quite unnoticeable.

4) How long is the surgical procedure?
It depends on the extension of the liposuction area and the amount of fat to be removed. It may take one to five hours.

5) How long is the hospital stay?
Between 12 and 24 hours, depending on the size of the surgical procedure.

6) Is a drain necessary?
In small liposuction procedures, no drain will be required. In large procedures, a drain may be necessary for some days (3 to 10 days on average), due to the large amount of fluid that forms in the first days and the need to remove it, in order to reduce swelling and bruising.

7) How long will i have to wear a bandage in postoperative?
A compression garment should be used for a month and a half after surgery.

8) Is the postoperative phase very painful?
The pain threshold varies a lot between patients. The most commonly reported feeling is a discomfort caused by swelling and tenderness over the area, easily controlled with prescribed plain analgesics.

9) How is postoperative recovery?
The patient leaves the surgery room already with a new shape, although hidden by edema (swelling). Swelling and bruising are more marked during the first three weeks, and gradually resolve. A residual edema may be seen until around the fourth month.
By the end of the first month, when the edema is better reabsorbed, hardened areas and nodules often appear, due to fibrosis (internal healing). These hardened areas usually dissolve from the second to the fourth month. Skin retraction occurs from the third to the sixth month, and its degree depends on the quality of the skin.

10) When are the stitches removed?
Stitches are removed from the 7th to the 14th postoperative day.

11) When will the definitive result be achieved?
After the 6th month postoperatively, when scars are mature.

12) When will i be able to resume normal activity?
As soon as the discomfort disappears, normal activity may be resumed. Professional activities usually can be resumed in 7 to 14 days. Physical activities take longer to restart.

13) When will i be able to do physical exercise?
This depends on the size of the surgery, and may take one to two months.

14) What is the risk of complications?
Some potential complications are hematoma, seroma (fluid collection), infection, and thrombosis. All these complications are rare, especially if liposuction is performed by a specialized surgeon (for example, a surgeon affiliated to the Brazilian College of Plastic Surgery). As important as avoiding complications is to have the procedure performed at an appropriate site and by a professional skilled to treat them.