Liposuction
Seattle and Bellevue Washington
Excess fat in your neck, abdomen (belly), thighs, buttocks and other body areas are often difficult to get rid of by dieting and exercise. Liposuction is designed to remove localized areas of fat with small and inconspicuous incisions (scars).
Liposuction is one of the most commonly performed plastic surgery procedures. However, liposuction alone will not remove any of the excess skin. Other body contouring procedures such as a tummy tuck , thigh lift, arm lift, breast lift and facelift may need to be combined with liposuction to remove the unwanted excess fat as well as the unwanted excess skin.
Liposuction is a safe procedure that is performed as outpatient surgery, which means you go home the same day of your surgery. The operation involves creating a few small incisions each ~ 1/4" long. The incisions are hidden under summer clothing. While you are asleep (monitored IV sedation), anesthetic fluid is then placed in to the fatty layer to provide long-lasting anesthesia. Through these small skin incisions, a probe is inserted through the same incision and the fat is gently removed.
After liposuction, compressive garments have to be worn for at least 6 weeks afterwards to assure that the swelling is kept to a minimum and the improved form and contour is maintained during the healing process. Pain after liposuction is minimal and most patients do not need pain medicines for more than a few days. Return to work or school after one week of recovery is common.
The ideal candidate for this operation is someone who has localized areas of fat which have not responded well to continued dieting and exercise. There should be good elasticity of the skin with minimal skin excess; otherwise longer skin incisions will be necessary to achieve the optimal result, such as in a tummy tuck.
A word of caution. This operation is not recommended for patients who have a very large volume of fat distributed everywhere. Patients who are morbidly obese (BMI greater than 35) should consider other means to lose as much of the excess weight first and then consider liposuction to complete the weight loss. After your weight loss has stabilized, you will be a better candidate for liposuction and/or other body contouring procedures.
Actual patient photos are not shown on this web site. However, you are welcome to come in for a consultation to see actual patient photos and learn about the cost of liposuction surgery. We perform outpatient surgery for patients from Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland and the greater Western Washington area. For patients from Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, we coordinate reduced rate accommodations at several high-quality hotels that are within walking distance of our plastic surgery center and downtown Seattle.
