Fat (lipo-) can build up in certain places around the body, such as your abdomen, legs, buttocks, hips, knees, arms, neck, chin and back. Liposuction or liposculpture is a technique to remove fat in specific areas by sucking out the fat cells.

Liposuction is not a method for losing weight. The skin has to be sufficiently elastic to snap back into shape after the procedure. You are a good candidate for liposuction if you are at your target weight, or very close to it, but cannot shift pockets of fat that have accumulated in targeted areas of the body.

Liposuction of the abdomen is the most common procedure

Apart from liposuction of the abdomen and thighs, the legs and thighs are very common areas where liposuction can be applied. Tumescent liposuction is also a useful procedure to perform in men with gynaecomastia or enlarged breasts. But liposuction is becoming just as common for men as it is for women. If the area around your neck has sagged, liposuction of the fat under the chin is all that is required.

Liposuction after pregnancy

Liposuction is certainly not meant to be used as a means of reducing weight or cellulite. Age plays a role in that the procedure delivers the best results if the skin still has some elasticity. But as the years go by, skin elasticity decreases. The same applies especially in women after one or more pregnancies or after losing a significant amount of weight. In such cases, a combination of liposuction and tummy tuck delivers the best results.

Liposuction prices

The price of a liposuction treatment depends on the areas you want to target. After a no-obligation consultation with one of our plastic surgeons, we can give you a firm price for your liposuction treatment.

You are expected to arrive at the Boerhaave clinic half an hour before your liposuction treatment.

Depending on the extent of the procedure, it is carried out under local sedation or general anaesthetic. A minor liposuction procedure can be carried out under local sedation, but a more extensive one is performed under general anaesthetic. The duration of the liposuction depends on the volume of fat cells to be removed and the number of areas you want to target. Generally speaking, no more than 2 litres of fat is sucked out in one session.

Tumescent liposculpture

We use the technique of tumescent liposculpture: One or more small incisions approximately 5 millimetres in length are made in the skin, through which a fluid is injected into the fat compartments to liquefy the fat. The plastic surgeon then uses fine suction needles to suck out the excess dissolved fat.

Before the procedure, the plastic surgeon marks out the areas on the body from which they want to remove fat. Small incisions approximately half a centimetre long are made in the skin, where possible in the natural skin creases, so that they can barely be seen afterwards. The plastic surgeon then injects a fluid through these incisions. The fluid helps reduce blood loss and separate the fat cells from the surrounding tissue, so that it is easier to suck away the fat. The plastic surgeon then inserts fine suction needles through the incisions, which are connected to a powerful pump. The fat is sucked away through these suction needles. Once the excess fat has been sucked away, the wounds are carefully stitched with absorbable stitches.

The duration of a liposuction treatment depends on the scope and number of areas targeted for liposuction. The timescales therefore vary per person. In your consultation with the plastic surgeon, you can find out exactly how long the procedure will take.

If your liposuction treatment is carried out under local sedation, you will be free to go home half an hour after the procedure. If the liposuction treatment is performed under general anaesthetic, you will usually be kept at the clinic for a further 3 to 4 hours after the procedure. After the treatment, you will be taken to the recovery room, where your blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs will be monitored. You will stay there for about half an hour, after which you will rest in a bed in the day care department for a further 3 to 4 hours. You will only be free to go home once the nursing staff and anaesthetist give their approval for you to leave. After a procedure carried out under general anaesthetic, you may eat and drink easily digestible food, such as water, tea and rusks once you are home. This also helps prevent nausea and vomiting, which in turn reduces the chance of post-operative bleeding and/or pressure on the wound. It is therefore important to keep your fluid intake up.

There may be a small amount of bleeding or seepage from the wound holes in the first 24 hours. You shouldn’t worry about this. It will soon stop.

Post-procedure pain

After the treatment, the treated area will be painful and you may feel pressure on the treated area. Painful bruising, swollen skin and soreness are normal symptoms. You may experience a build-up of fluid in some places. This often subsides after approximately 2 to 6 weeks. You may also feel pain in your muscles, as if you have been doing strenuous exercise. When you walk, you may feel a painful burning sensation around the treated area.

Recovery

As with every surgical procedure, the body takes time to recover. The treated area will initially be very swollen. The scars may also be red and raised immediately after the procedure. You shouldn’t worry about this, as it is your body’s natural reaction.

The skin around the treated area may turn from blue to yellow. You may also have decreased sensitivity of the skin.

Scar cream

At your first check-up, you will be given a scar care cream to take home with you. Once the wound has closed and the scabs have disappeared, you can start applying the scar cream. If you apply this cream to the closed wound twice a day, you increase the chance of the wound healing nicely.

A liposuction procedure can deliver impressive results. However, you will not be able to see any immediate results after the liposuction procedure. Your skin will be swollen and raised, so the effect of the liposuction procedure will not be visible. The skin needs time to tighten and readjust to the new shape of your body. After a couple of weeks, the swelling will have subsided and the build-up of fluid will have disappeared. It will take about 3 months to see whether or not the procedure was a success. The end results will not be visible until 1 year after the procedure. Only then will the body have fully recovered from the operation.

The effect of a liposuction treatment is often lasting. Fat cells that have been removed will never come back again. But a thin layer of fat remains just under the skin. This fatty layer is needed for a beautifully shaped body and plays an important role for the skin. The remaining fatty cells may come back, for example due to a poor diet. So physical exercise and a healthy regime are important to maintain, as they reduce the chance of the fat growing back.

Your new body shape may well call for new clothes. This should be taken into consideration before undergoing the treatment.

Scars

The scars after a liposuction treatment are not large. A liposuction scar is half a centimetre long on average. The plastic surgeon will do everything they can to ensure that the scars are virtually invisible. The scars will initially be red and swollen, but this will start to fade after a couple of weeks. The scars will then be barely visible. It is useful to know that a scar takes 1 to 1½ years to completely calm down. So remember to apply the scar cream to your scars and stay out of the sun. After the first year, always use factor 30 or higher when you are in the sun, to protect your skin.

It is important you are aware that every surgical intervention can entail risks and complications. Plastic surgery procedures are in principle carried out on healthy people, so the risks and chances of complications are low. We make sure any risks are reduced to an absolute minimum, by providing plenty of information, taking a thorough medical history (noting your case history, including medication, any problems experienced in previous operations, allergies, etc.) and applying our professional procedures.

Liposuction procedures are successfully performed each week at the Boerhaave Medical Centre. The chances of any complications arising are luckily rare. You can help reduce certain risks by carefully reading through the instructions you are given prior to your liposuction treatment.

Possible complications of a surgical procedure may be:

• Haematoma (blood clot under the skin which has to be removed)
• Adverse reaction to the sedation
• Haemorrhaging
• Infection
• Change in sensitivity
• Permanently visible scars
• Damage to underlying structures
• Unsatisfactory aesthetic result
• Skin irregularities
• Saggy skin after liposuction.

Smoking

Patients who smoke or use tobacco or nicotine products (such as nicotine patches and chewing gum) at the time of their surgery have a greater risk of complications, such as skin loss and impaired wound healing. People who are exposed to passive smoking may also have an increased risk of complications such as these. What’s more, smoking may have a negative effect on the anaesthesia, which may in turn lead to an increased risk of bleeding. People who are not exposed to tobacco smoke or nicotine-containing products have a significantly lower risk of such complications. It is important not to smoke for at least 2 weeks prior to the operation and to keep this up for the entire recovery process.