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Plastic Surgery News

 

Department of Surgery

Strong Health's Specialists in Plastic Surgery

Cosmetic Surgery

Liposuction: What To Expect

Liposuction can be an outpatient procedure, especially if only a small amount of fat will be removed. More extensive procedures may require a short hospital stay. Depending on the surgical plan you and your doctor have developed, you’ll be given local, regional or general anesthesia.

  • Local anesthesia means you’ll be lightly sedated and the area around the surgery will be numbed. You’re awake during the surgery, but relaxed and feeling no pain.

  • Regional anesthesia means you’ll be lightly sedated and a larger area (compared to local anesthesia) will be numbed. You’re awake during the surgery, but relaxed and feeling no pain. (An example of regional anesthesia is the epidural block, often used in childbirth.)

  • General anesthesia means you’ll be asleep during the operation.

How the Procedure is Performed

The procedure begins with the surgeon making one or more small incisions in the area to be suctioned. Then the surgeon inserts a small, flexible tube, called a “cannula,” through the incision into the fat. The other end of the tube is connected to a suction device. This can be a machine, such as a suction pump, or a hand-operated syringe.

At this point a couple different techniques can be used, including:

Learn More About Liposuction (Lipoplasty)