March 19, 2005 | Blog
2 minute read
As the summer approaches, many of us yet again, become firmly resolved to lose weight. While diet and exercise are wonderful at helping us look and feel better, often there are a few trouble areas left behind. Commonly in women, this area is harshly called a saddlebags. In men, it’s love handles. The place on your physique where your body decides to store its fat is based on geneticsso you can blame your mother or father for those unattractive bulges!
Liposuction is the procedure of choice for most patients with isolated and troublesome areas of fat deposits. The procedure, performed under general or twilight anesthesia, actually has one of the easiest recoveries of the many procedures I perform. Most patients describe the discomfort as achey as if they had worked out too hard and just a few use the word, pain. New techniques have dramatically improved the safety of the procedure along with the results a surgeon can obtain.
Recovery varies between individuals, but if the area is not too large, most patients are back to work in a few days. Patients who undergo very large areas of liposuction don’t have more pain, but may feel a little more tired and need an extra day or two of rest. The incisions for liposuction are tiny and almost invisible when completely healed. Special garments are worn for about three weeks after the procedure to minimize swelling and speed the recovery of the newly shaped area.
Most patients who undergo liposuction notice an improvement almost immediately, although the final results are apparent after about three to six months. Most of the swelling is gone in a few weeks, and you can start buying your new smaller-sized clothes.
Liposuction can be a great solution for the right patient. The best way to find out if the procedure is right for you is through a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon. Who knows? By summer, you may be planning a trip to the beach or islands to show off your new, svelte shape.