When you’re looking to lose weight everybody has something to say about it. Everybody has a solution or a piece of advice to impart; a magic pill, a fool-proof strategy or a crazy diet plan that they’ve read about in Gullible Women’s Weekly magazine. Of course the real experts tell us that all we need to do to lose weight is to eat sensibly and exercise regularly, but it’s not always that simple. Sometimes fat just won’t budge no matter how many fast food restaurants we run away from and no matter how many grass and celery salads we force ourselves to order. Fat clings to difficult areas such as the thighs, neck, chin and face, and simply refuses to let go. Often the areas we are most self-conscious about are those that are harder to lose weight from. That’s where liposuction comes in.
Liposuction has received some bad press over the years, gaining a reputation as a harsh, invasive procedure. Older liposuction procedures were exactly that and were recommended only as a drastic last resort. However, liposuction has been around for several decades now and in this time a number of advances have been made, enabling surgeons to pioneer new procedures that are more delicate and less severe. Whilst liposuction will always be an invasive procedure, these new techniques have helped to make it less harsh and less punishing on the body and, most important of all, much safer.
Ultrasonic liposuction is a good example of these new techniques. It’s been around for only a few years but in that time it has been refined to a point where it is more effective and less painful than other lipo procedures.
So what is ultrasonic liposuction? Well it’s exactly what it sounds like. Surgeons use high-frequency sound waves to break up fat, making it much easier to remove. This decreases the discomfort caused by the procedure and shortens the recovery time needed afterwards.
There are two types of ultrasonic liposuction – internal and external ultrasonic liposuction. The internal procedure uses an ultrasonic device attached to the cannula (the suction instrument) to break up the fat. External liposuction, on the other hand, uses a separate instrument on the outside of the skin. This is usually done beforehand and simply serves to make the removal of fat easier, reducing the negative effects of the surgery. As with all liposuction procedures a recovery period is required after the ultrasonic assisted liposuction surgery has been performed but this will be significantly decreased by the application of ultrasonic technology.
Areas where external ultrasonic liposuction is particularly effective are the face and neck, but the technique can be applied to any area of the body.
It sounds like science-fiction, doesn’t it? I can assure you that this is not fiction. Ultrasonic liposuction is very real and very effective, and it definitely will not liquefy your internal organs (this is normally the first question that patients ask).
Unfortunately not everyone is eligible for ultrasonic liposuction surgery. The ultrasonic waves do not break down cellulite so those with high levels of cellulite should not undergo the procedure. Your surgeon will always make a risk assessment before approving you for surgery. This will take your cellulite level into consideration as well as your skin elasticity and your health in general.