Liposuction
Essay Preview: Liposuction
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Is the shape of your body dissatisfying to? What is the perfect body? Do you have one? By society’s standards is there one? Who would not love to have the perfect body?
Liposuction is on of the most popular type of cosmetic surgery procedure done in the United States. This procedure allows a surgeon to “sculpt” the human body to the client’s desire. Are you a good candidate for this procedure? What are the costs and risks one would be taking?
In the mid-1970’s there were many European surgeons that were trying to discover a way to remove localized fat deposits through incisions. The techniques surgeons were using were not getting enough good results and were causing bleeding, prolonged wound drainage, and sub-optimal healing.
Dr. Giorgio Fischer of Rome was the first surgeon to make an instrument that removed fat by suction and was the first to perform the liposuction surgery. “Fischer wanted to improve the techniques so he developed an instrument for severing tissue connections persisting between the skin and underlying muscle following tunneling with the blunt suction cannula.” (Maclean’s, Oct. 9, 1989). Fischer’s results began to fail due to the overlying skin of the suctioned area not shrinking satisfactorily after the surgery. Dr. Yves-Gerard Ilouz, a French gynecologist, realized the problems were occurring from the fat being removed almost totally from the treated area creating a large area for body fluids to fill. Dr. Ilouz simply modified the suction abortion machine to create liposuction. He then introduced the concept of fat reinjection and is considered the “father of liposuction surgery,” which he developed in Paris in 1977. The technique is very straightforward: suction unwanted fat from one part of the body, treat that fat with a small amount of insulin, and reinject the fat in to any depressed skin area of the body.
Procedure
Liposuction is performed by inserting a special thin, hollow tube instrument called a cannula. The cannula is inserted beneath the skin through a tiny incision that is made in a natural crease or fold in the skin then the cannula is attached to an aspirator (suction devise). The surgeon moves the tub in a back-and-forth motion through the fat, crating “tunnels” in the fat. Excess fat is sucked through the tube and into a container — similar to the way a vacuum cleaner works. After the desired amount if fat is removed, the surgeon tunnels through the remaining fat in a criss — cross manner in order to create an even contour. Fat that was once dense and thick becomes like a honeycomb or sponge with many air pockets. After the surgery is finished, tight bandages are wrapped around the affected area which compresses the fat and collapses the tunnels. The fat cells heal this way and retain the compressed shape.
The liposuction cannulas used during surgery come in various shapes and sizes. The cannulas are connected to a hollow tube to a powerful vacuum pump that supplies the suction required to remove the fat. The tube that is connected to the cannula to collect the fat is transparent so the surgeon can visualize material being suctioned from the treated area.
Body Fat Being a Factor
The body fat on a person can be very important in the success of a patient of liposuction. It all depends on the way the fat is naturally distributed over the patient’s body. The amount of body fat is influenced by diet and exercise but it also can be hereditary. According to Saul Asken, M.D., “If a person inherits large thighs or buttocks due to bone structure, liposuction is not the answer. However, if oversize thighs result from fat accumulations, it could help.” (Consumers Digest, Jan.-Feb. 1991).
Fat tissue is needed for energy, insulation and affects the water balance and usually represents about 20% of total body weight. When a person is born the fat cells in the body are a certain amount. When a person grows the fat cells do not increase, but the cells can expand if a person does not diet and exercise properly. Therefore, when liposuction is performed the fat cells will not reappear, but can expand to the result of obesity.
Obesity is usually defined as being 20% over the ideal body weight. Liposuction is not an alternative to exercise or diet and it is not a cure for being overweight. The procedure was designed to remove small amounts of fat from localized areas and should not be taken advantage of.
The safest amount of fat to remove is about three or four pounds, or fifteen hundred to two thousand cubic centimeters. Although there is a limit to remove no more than seven and a half pounds safely in any single procedure. McCurdy says, “This fat is considerably lighter than the solution that is administered intravenously during the surgery to replace body fluids that leak into the surgical site during the early postoperative period.” (Sculpturing Your Body: Diet, Exercise, and Liposuction). Due to this the patient will probably experience some weight gain of several pounds the first couple of days after surgery because of the fluid replacement. The kidneys will get rid of the excess fluid and the body weight soon returns to normal. Most patients with small to moderate fat bulges lose only a couple of pounds but may drop two to three clothing sizes.
Liposuction can improve the contours of the body, but the procedure is limited by the natural body shape and bone structure.
Body Sculpturing by Liposuction vs. Diet and Exercise
Shaping the body with liposuction is much different from the results of diet and exercise in two important ways. According to John McCudy M.D., “The first difference relates to the fate of the fat cells. When fat is lost by creating a caloric deficit (diet and exercise), fat cells lose some of their fat s stores, becoming smaller. The number of fat cells throughout the body, however, remains constant as the smaller fat cells remain alive. In fact, these depleted fat cells send messages to the brain indicating their depleted state, stimulating hunger, and when caloric surplus occurs, these fat cells are actually more efficient in extracting nutrients from the bloodstream and converting them to fat for storage.” (Sculpturing Your Body: Diet, Exercise, and Liposuction).
In comparing the two, the fat cells in liposuction are permanently removed from the area and in diet and exercise the fat cells are just reduced to a smaller size. Therefore, liposuction would bring the easiest