The decision to undergo Liposuction is an exciting one. It is my belief, that an educated patient allows you to better determine your personal goals, and enables you to make an informed decision about surgery. I have developed this website as a patient information resource.

Do you love your "love handles"? Do you have extra fat around your midsection? Embarrased to take off your shirt in public? Everyone wants to look good without a shirt but let's face it, we've all tried to look for ways to loose weight, from medication, to herbs, to garments, ab- roller... but the bottom line is, there is no permanent reduction of the number of fat cells short of having liposuction.

Procedure

Liposuction is a surgical procedure that removes fat from under the skin through a small incision no bigger than a quarter of an inch. Dr. Kole uses a stainless steel tube or cannula connected to a high powered suction machine to remove the excess fat. Routine places to perform suction are the neck, arms, abdomen, hips, buttocks, inner and outer thighs, and around the knees. Liposuction is used to sculpt or contour the body and improve the shape or silhouette. It works best for patients who have localized fat with good skin elasticity, have realistic expectations, and are at or near their ideal weight. Liposuction will not tighten the muscle or skin, nor is it a method for overall weight loss. It is used in addition to but does not take the place of diet and exercise. Removal of fat is considered permanent, however, if you gain weight the fat will go to another location. It is important to keep in mind that liposuction has limitations. It will only remove fat under the skin. It will not remove fat that is inside the abdomen or under your muscles. A consultation with Dr. Kole is necessary to see if you are an ideal candidate.

Methods

Tumescent and Super-Wet Technique:

A method of liposuction where Dr. Kole injects a large volume of sterile salt water mixed with lidocaine (an anesthetic) and epinephrine (vessel constrictor) under the skin prior to performing the procedure. This solution is used to:

• Create a plane for the removal of fat.
• Minimize blood loss .
• Helps with intra-operative and post-operative pain.

This is probably the safest form of liposuction and can be used with suction-assisted liposuction or power-assisted liposuction.

Power-assisted liposuction:

Power-assisted liposuction uses suction and a specialized set of cannulas that cause a reciprocating vibrating motion to help emulsify the fat for removal. There is less blood loss and ease of extraction of fat using this technique. There may be a more uniform removal of fat with the power- assisted approach that leads to improved skin re-draping. The complication rate for this technique is similar to suction-assisted liposuction.

Suction- assisted liposuction:

Suction-assisted liposuction is a method of removing fat by use of a small cannula or tubes inserted under the skin through a small incision hooked up to a suction machine. The emulsification and removal of fat is performed by the manual back and forth motion performed by Dr. Kole and by the negative pressure created by the suction machine. Suction-assisted liposuction can be used by itself or in combination with Power assisted liposuction.

Dr. Kole prefers using tumescent technique with both suction-assisted and power-assisted liposuction.

Ideal Candidates for liposuction

• Patients who are in good health.
• Patients with realistic expectations.
• Patients who do not have eating disorders (such as anorexia, bulimia).
• Patients who are doing it for the right reasons (i.e. for themselves).
• Patients who are at their ideal or stable weight.
• Patients who have good skin elasticity.
• Patients who have localized fat under their skin.

Risks and Complications

Risks and complications may include but are not limited to poor scarring, bleeding, infection, skin contour irregularities and rippling, change in skin sensation, pigmentation changes and swelling, asymmetry, the inability of the skin to redrape correctly or snap back, fluid accumulations, pulmonary complications, skin loss, chronic pain, and risks and complications associated with anesthesia. It is important to remember that complications can occur, but are rare.

Risks and potential complications of surgery are best discussed at the time of your consultation.

Smokers have a greater risk of wound healing and pulmonary complications with any type of surgery.

Recovery

Following surgery, a compression garment is worn for a minimum of two weeks to help decrease swelling and bruising, and promotes skin shrinkage and re-draping. Patients are encouraged to walk as soon as possible to help reduce the swelling and prevent complications. Your recovery time is three to ten days. You may resume light exercise after two weeks. For high impact exercise aerobics, four weeks is recommended. Even though most of the swelling and bruising will resolve in two weeks, your final result will be observed within 6 months. Remember, liposuction does not take the place of diet and exercise, and the patient must maintain their pre-operation weight or continue to loose weight for the optimal desired results.

In/Out Patient

Surgery is usually done as an out-patient, under general anesthesia, or in some cases with IV sedation and local anesthesia. Surgery time is usually 1-2 hours depending on the extent of the surgery.

Call Dr. Kole for complimentary consultation: 215-354-1010

For more information on Liposuction, see our Liposuction FAQ page.