Liposuction is a general term for a medical procedure that removes and sculpts fat from various places on the body. This is vastly different technique than Laser Liposuction Surgery. Laser Liposuction will be dealt with in another post.
In a traditional Liposuction surgery, the doctor moves a long thin tube under the skin. The tube is, in turn, attached to a suction device. This suction device with the aid of fluid injected into the surgery site is what removes and sculpts the fat. This manual removal causes bruising, bleeding, and swelling.
It is generally performed under general anesthesia depending on the scope and location of the surgery. As always, going under anesthesia is a serious health risk.
Traditional liposuction recovery time is on the order of a week or so depending on the health of the patient, and the magnitude of the surgery. Stitches are often used and the surgery has the negative side effect of leaving loose skin.
It is important to note that traditional liposuction and laser liposuction is not a weight loss method. What it is, however, is a method for sculpting the body. Usually, less than 10 lbs of fat are removed. Diet and exercise are strongly suggested following the recovery from liposuction surgery.
The decision for laser liposuction or traditional liposuction is one that is between you and your doctor.
Check back later for an article on laser liposuction surgery.