Liposuction FAQs

Do you have questions about our revolutionary tumescent liposuction technique? Browse some of the most common questions we get asked ranging from costs involved to the actual recovery.

A: Liposuction is a surgical technique that aims to improve the body’s contour by removing excess fat from fatty deposits found between the skin and muscle. Liposuction is a dream come true to many people who have localized accumulations of fat that is virtually impossible to get rid off by exercising or dieting.

A: The most commonly treated areas in women include abdomen, hips, thighs, knees, calves, arms, and beneath the chin. In men abdomen, love handles, breasts, neck and chin area are the most common areas for liposuction.

A: There are several different techniques for performing liposuction. Some of the common ones include the dry technique, wet technique, super-wet technique, tumescent liposuction, Ultrasonic, Power-assisted, LASER etc. We perform a technique called as tumescent liposuction in our hospital.

A: Tumescent Liposuction is a minimally invasive surgical procedure aimed at removing fat from fatty tissues in the body in order to improve the contour of the body. The word tumescent means swollen and firm. The actual technique involves the infiltration of large volumes of dilute Lignocaine, a local anesthetic and Adrenaline, a vasoconstrictor into the areas of liposuction. This is achieved by means of creating small incisions in the area of liposuction. The fatty tissues become swollen and magnified, anesthetized and virtually blood-less due to the capillary shrinking effects of Adrenaline. After this infiltration a hollow metal tube called as a canula is used to break up the fat which is sucked out by means of a suction machine attached to the canula. The area of liposuction is virtually painless and allows the doctor to perform the procedure easily.

A: Due to the small canulas used, the tumescent liposuction permits a more delicate and gentle approach to liposuction as the surgeon can control the direction and position of the canula more accurately. This also reduces the risk of inadvertently approaching the undersurface of the skin too closely and unintentionally causing skin irregularities. Due to the small diameter of the canulas the incisions are small and are not sutured at the end of the surgery. By not using stitches to close the skin incisions the rate of healing is faster. Another benefit in leaving the incisions open is faster drainage of the blood-tinged fluid. This results in less bruising and quicker recovery.

A: As with any surgical procedure, liposuction is associated with some common side effects like bruising, swelling, and temporary numbness. Although skin dimpling and irregularities can occur with tumescent technique this is not too common. Also with smaller canulas being used of late skin irregularities are all too rare. Rarer complications like infections, bleeding and nerve injuries are not commonly encountered with tumescent liposuction.

A: One question we get asked always by patients eager to lose their fat is how much fat can we remove in a sitting? The safe upper limit for this is no more than 5 liters in one session. Fat is also a metabolically active tissue and hence these safe limits. If a person is very big we can consider serial or staged liposuction can be considered where a second procedure can be performed safely several weeks after the first procedure.

A: The costs of the surgery can differ from patient to patient because of too many variables like amount of fat removed, number of areas treated, medications and medical tests. Patients’ can expect to pay between 100000 to 180000 Shillings for tumescent liposuction.

A: If you are interested in undergoing this procedure it is recommended to have a pre-operative assessment with our doctor so that he can have an idea of what needs to be done and advice you accordingly. The doctor also will like to perform some tests to confirm you are healthy enough for undergoing the surgery. In addition he will also advice you to stop taking any medications that will affect the surgery (ex: Aspirin can increase risk of bleeding).

A: Tumescent liposuction is NOT A WEIGHT LOSS procedure. An example of weight loss surgery is bariatric surgery/stomach stapling where the stomach volume is reduced drastically so that the patient reduces the calorie intake. Liposuction is more a ‘body sculpting’ procedure aimed towards shaping your body. Although the results of liposuction are often quite spectacular it is not realistic to expect ‘perfection.’

A: Although immediately following the surgery you will notice a dramatic improvement the final result of the surgery needs 12 – 16 weeks to become fully apparent. This is primarily due to the slow resolution of the post liposuction swelling. In addition following the surgery the doctor will advise you to wear a compression garment for a minimum of 4-6 weeks. This garment holds the tissues together, controls swelling, reduces pain/discomfort and provides additional support as the body heals. The garment also aids in proper skin retraction following the removal of the fat.

A: Due to the significant decrease in swelling, inflammation and pain after surgery most patients notice that they can return to normal activities within a week. Some of our patients have even resumed work 2 days after the surgery! Some patients resume jogging, light aerobic exercise, and golf within a day or two. There are no limitations to any physical activity other than what common sense would dictate. Some patients find soreness after surgery more significant than others but majority of the patients are surprised how quickly they are able to return to normal activities after the surgery.

A: Fat cells removed by the tumescent technique does not grow back. As long as the patient does not gain an excess amount of fat the new, pleasing silhouette gained by liposuction tends to be permanent. In individuals to gain weight after the surgery the new deposition of fat does not occur in the treated areas but in other areas.

A: Our doctor performs liposuction under local anesthesia. The risk of general anesthesia (especially in liposuction) is completely avoided. We have successfully performed over a hundred cases since we started 4 years back with more than 95% patients completely satisfied with the results. None of our patients experienced any drastic side effects apart from the common swelling, pain and bruising typical of liposuction.

A: In addition to tumescent liposuction we perform several other cosmetic procedures: These include:
· Facial fat transfer.
· Botox Cosmetic.
· Botox for excessive sweating.
· Mesotherapy.
· Facial fillers (Juvederm).
· Non-invasive fat reduction with injections/cavitation.

To get more information on these procedures please feel free to contact us using the form in the sidebar.