To be a good candidate for Liquid Lipo you must have realistic expectations about what the procedure can do for you. It's important to understand that Liquid Lipo can enhance your appearance and self confidence, but it won't necessarily change your looks to match your ideal image. Before you decide to have treatment think carefully about your expectations and discuss them with your surgeon.
The best candidates for Liquid Lipo are people who are within a healthy weight range with firm, elastic skin who have pockets of excess fat in certain areas. Your age is not a major consideration; however, older patients may have diminished skin elasticity and may not achieve the same results as a younger patient with tighter skin.
More about the Liquid Lipo procedure
Liquid Lipo uses a specially-shaped cannula to produce a fine, fan-shaped jet of water in front of the cannula.
The pressure of the water-jet gently pushes nerves and blood vessels out of the path of the cannula, minimizing mechanical trauma in the treatment area. Post-op bruising and swelling are avoided and recovery times are significantly reduced, making the entire treatment very comfortable for the patient.
The Liquid Lipo procedure is performed in two phases.
Phase 1: Infiltration
Using the water-jet, the treatment area is infiltrated with a saline solution containing adrenaline (to minimize bleeding) and local anaesthetic.
In this phase, the jet is used primarily to distribute the medications. The volume of fluid injected is small and produces negligible swelling or deformation of the treatment area. This makes the procedure comfortable for the patient, and avoids the volume and medication loading on the patient of other techniques.
The water-jet permits considerably faster distribution and penetration of the fluid in the target area, reducing the overall procedure time and the effort required by the surgeon. The infiltration phase typically takes 10-15 minutes to complete.
Phase 2: Contouring
Once the infiltration phase is complete, the water-jet is used to dissect the fat for suctioning.
The shape and pressure of the water-jet gently dislodges the fat for suction in a precise manner, giving the surgeon fine control of the contouring process.
Because the treatment area is not distorted by the fluid, the surgeon is better able to assess body contours during the procedure, allowing for precise 'what-you-see-is-what-you-get' contouring and thus minimising the need for corrective procedures.
The water is applied directly in the treatment area and then removed with the fat. This minimises the medication load on the patient and also permits the safe treatment of multiple zones within a single procedure.
The suction process continues until the desired shape is achieved. Throughout the process, blood vessels and nerves are displaced by the jet, protecting them from being torn by the cannula.
More than 90% of the injected fluid is removed with the fat, leaving minimal amounts of medication behind and reducing the post-op drainage time to less than 24 hours.
Although Liposoft can be performed under general anesthesia and IV sedation, Liquid Lipo is tailored for (and most commonly practiced under) local anesthesia.
Having the patient conscious throughout the procedure offers several benefits:
- it allows the patient to change position during the procedure, giving the surgeon optimal access to the treatment area;
- it allows the surgeon to progressively check the results with the patient in a standing position;
- the patient can give direct feedback should pain or complications arise;
- risks associated with general anesthesia are avoided.
LOOSE SKIN
In some patients with poor quality skin there is a small possibility that they can be left with skin that does not retract to a satisfactory level. In the past having this "excess" skin removed could only be achieved through surgical removal.
Now with the introduction of LASER LIPOSUCTION we are able to help tighten the skin without the need for a surgical methods. LASER LIPOSUCTION is quite commonly used in combination with Liquid Liposuction procedures to assist with skin tightening..
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