In-Office Liposuction – I want to discuss in-office liposuction for a moment because there are some misconceptions about liposuction I feel need to be corrected. People believe it is painful and requires a long recovery. I have heard people say it is not safe and there is a risk of death. One person recently stated they were told a relatively new fat freezing procedure was a better option. Finally, people almost universally believe it is only for the rich because it is so expensive. Let me unequivocally say, none of the above are true, so let me try to set the record straight.
Pain is obviously subjective and what one person finds excruciatingly painful another person may hardly notice. However, I can tell you when I do in-office liposuction I have yet to have anyone state pain was a major issue. Most people take one pain pill the night of the procedure for what they describe as some discomfort or to help them sleep but do not require any further pain medicine moving forward. The worst part of the procedure is when I inject a small amount of lidocaine in order to create the small openings for the cannulas. Now if you are one of those people who are terrified of doctors and needles, etc. then in-office liposuction is not likely for you because in-office liposuction is done while you are awake.
Liposuction has received some bad press because untrained physicians attempt it on people after only a weekend course or in order to save money, patients are more often attempting to go to other countries for the procedure. Bad outcomes or even deaths have occurred in both of those settings. I do not know the details of each story but attempting to remove too much fat in one setting or the physician not having proper training seem to be recurring themes in these stories. I can tell you I have removed countless liters of fat with liposuction from hundreds of patients and have yet to have a devastating complication. I was trained extensively on liposuction during my residency. I am board-certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery and more importantly, I do not attempt to perform in-office, awake liposuction on more than one area at a time. For example, if a person wants liposuction on their abdomen and love-handles then we do the love handles one day and 6 weeks later we do it on the abdomen. Furthermore, when performed by a well-trained plastic surgeon with an understanding on how to do in-office liposuction, the results can beat any other “non-invasive” modality on the market and often times at a cheaper cost.
Finally, the perfect liposuction candidate is an individual who has stubborn areas of fat with good overlying skin elasticity. I can tell you during the consultation whether or not you are a good candidate. Call us today to schedule a consultation.
