Houston Liposuction - Dr. German Newall, MD, FICS, FACS

Liposuction is a popular type of cosmetic surgery. It removes unwanted deposits of excess fat, to improve body appearance and to smooth irregular or distorted body shapes. The procedure is sometimes called body contouring. Liposuction may be useful for contouring under the chin, neck, cheeks, upper arms, breasts, abdomen, buttocks, hips, thighs, knees, calves, and ankle areas. However, liposuction is a serious surgical procedure and may involve a painful recovery. Because liposuction can have serious or occasionally fatal complications, you should carefully think about your decision to have this surgery.

Before your surgery, you will have an initial patient consultation, which will include a history, physical exam, and a psychological evaluation. You may need to bring someone (such as your spouse) with you during the visit. You may need a second consultation to give you time to think over the surgery.

You should feel free to ask questions, and to feel satisfied with the answers to those questions. A properly informed person makes a better patient. You must understand fully the pre-operative preparations, the liposuction procedure, and the post-operative care. Understand that liposuction may enhance your appearance and self-confidence, but it will probably not give you your ideal body.

Body Contouring > Liposuction Body Contouring / Liposuction 35 year old female before and after lipo sculpture. Now she looks and feels more athletic, boosting her self esteem. Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Liposuction Body Contouring / Liposuction Young female before and roughly one month after liposculpture of abdomen, flanks and thighs. Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Liposuction Body Contouring / Liposuction       Young woman before and three months after large volume liposuction. (Full body with approximately 25 lbs. pure fat removed)       Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring >  Brachioplasty (Arm Lift) Body Contouring / Brachioplasty (Arm Lift)  This patient of Dr. Newall’s was very self conscious of the sagging skins on her arms. Dr. Newall performed a Brachioplasty, otherwise known as Arm Lift, to dramatically decrease the sagging skin on her arms.  Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Brachioplasty (Arm Lift) Body Contouring / Brachioplasty (Arm Lift) This patient was very please with the reduction in arm size; procedure known as "Arm Lift" or brachioplasty. Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Brachioplasty (Arm Lift) Body Contouring / Brachioplasty This patient of Dr. Newall's had lots of loose skin after loosing a lot of weight.  Dr. Newall performed a tummy tuck to get rid of the loose skin.  He also performed liposuction to further reduce her fat composition and used a large implant to give her back volume in the breasts.  Additionally, this patient was self conscious about her sagging skin under her arms.  Dr. Newall performed a a brachioplasty to get rid of the so called "bat-wings".  This patient was very happy with her final result. Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Butt Lift Body Contouring / Butt Lift This young woman was concerned about her sagging buttocks area and unwanted fat deposits. After a consultation with Dr. Newall she decided to undergo an advanced surgical technique commonly referred to as the “Brazilian” butt lift.  Notice how the buttock has been lifted and a fuller contour achieved with this remarkable surgical procedure. Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Butt Lift liposuction / Buttock Lift This young woman in her early thirties was interested in having her buttock enhanced. After a consultation with Dr. Newall she decided to have fat grafting augmentation to her buttock. This specialized fat grafting procedure provides a very natural result. Note the enhanced buttock and contour achieved with this procedure. Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Butt Lift Body Contouring / Butt Lift & Liposuction Dr. Newall performed liposuction of the abdomen, flanks, and back in combination with fat grafting to the buttocks (butt lift).  Notice the wonderful results achieved without a tummy tuck. Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Butt Lift Body Contouring / Butt Lift Dr. Newall used liposuction to reduce this woman's waist and give her a more youthful feminine curve.  Her own fat cells removed during liposuction were then injected into her buttocks to give her a full butt and slightly raised from its previous position.  This procedure known as a Brazilian Buttlift or just plain Butt Lift is medically known as fat graft to the buttocks.  Using your own tissue to augment the buttocks better choice for most women than butt implants. Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Butt Lift Body Contouring / Butt Lift Dr. Newall performed liposuction and fat grafting to give this patient a more youthful shape. He also performed a procedure called fat grafting to the buttocks to give it a more rounded and uplifted appearance.   This procedure is commonly referred to as a Brazilian Butt lift. Dr. German Newall

Body Contouring > Butt Lift Body Contouring / Butt Lift This patient came to Dr. Newall desiring a leaner athletic look and a lift of her buttocks.  Dr. Newall performed liposuction to give her that leaner look and used her own fat to perform a Brazilian Butt Lift.    Dr. German Newall

Several different liposuction procedures exist:

Tumescent liposuction (fluid injection) is the most common type of liposuction. It involves injecting a large amount of medicated solution into the areas before the fat is removed (sometimes, the solution may be up to three times the volume of fat to be removed). The fluid is a mixture of local anesthetic (lidocaine), a drug that contracts the blood vessels (epinephrine), and an intravenous (IV) salt solution. The lidocaine in the mixture helps to numb the area during and after surgery, and may be the only anesthesia needed for the procedure. The epinephrine in the solution helps reduce the loss of blood, the amount of bruising, and the amount of swelling from the surgery. The IV solution helps remove the fat more easily and it is suctioned out along with the fat. This type of liposuction generally takes longer than other types.

The super-wet technique is similar to tumescent liposuction. The difference is that not as much fluid is used during the surgery--the amount of fluid injected is equal to the amount of fat to be removed. This technique takes less time; however, it often requires sedation with an IV or general anesthesia.

Ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) is a fairly new technique, used in the U.S. since 1996. During this technique, ultrasonic vibrations are used to liquefy fat cells. After the cells are liquefied, they can be vacuumed out. UAL can be done in two ways, external (above the surface of the skin with a special emitter) or internal (below the surface of the skin with a small, heated cannula). This technique may help remove fat from dense, fiber-filled (fibrous) areas of the body such as the upper back or enlarged male breast tissue. UAL is often used together with the tumescent technique, in follow-up (secondary) procedures, or for greater precision. In general, this procedure takes longer than the super-wet technique.

Before the day of surgery you may have blood drawn and be asked to provide a urine sample. This allows the health care provider to rule out potential complications. If you are not hospitalized, you will need a ride home after the surgery.

A liposuction machine and special instruments are used for this surgery. The surgical team first preps the operative site and administers either local or general anesthesia. Through a small skin incision, a suction tube with a sharp end is inserted into the fat pockets and swept through the area where fat is to be removed. The dislodged fat is "vacuumed" away through the suction tube. A vacuum pump or a large syringe provides the suction action. Several skin punctures may be needed to treat large areas.

After the fat is removed, small drainage tubes may be inserted into the defatted areas to remove blood and fluid that gather during the first few days after surgery. If you lose a lot of fluid or blood during the surgery, you may meed fluid replacement (intravenously) or a blood transfusion.

After the surgery, bandages are applied to keep pressure on the area and stop any bleeding, as well as to help maintain shape. Bandages are usually kept in place for at least 2 weeks. Your doctor may call you from time to time to check on your health and to monitor your healing. A visit back to the surgeon after 5-7 days is often recommended. Sometimes people gain weight after liposuction. This is due to the increased fluid from surgery.

Liposuction may or may not require a hospital stay, depending on the location and extent of surgery. Liposuction can be done in an office-based facility, in a surgery center on an outpatient basis, or in a hospital. For reasons of cost and convenience, liposuction of smaller volumes is usually done as an outpatient. You may need to stay in a hospital if a larger volume of fat is being removed, or if you are having other procedures done at the same time.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002985.htm