Liposuction
Despite your best diet and exercise efforts, stubborn fatty deposits can persist. At Faith Regional Physicians Services in Norfolk, Nebraska, we offer minimally invasive procedures to help with these and other cosmetic concerns.
Our board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon performs liposuction to loosen and remove fat. Your surgeon can treat multiple problem areas such as the arms, belly, buttocks, and thighs.
Is Liposuction Right for You?
Sometimes called lipoplasty or just lipo, liposuction surgery slims and reshapes fatty areas of your body. Your plastic surgeon removes excess fat deposits and enhances your curves and contours.
Liposuction won’t treat obesity, and it’s not a substitute for diet and exercise. It’s also not an effective treatment for loose, hanging, or dimpled skin (cellulite) on your hips, buttocks, and thighs.
Liposuction Consultation
If you’re considering liposuction, you can schedule a free consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon at Faith Regional. You’ll learn more about the procedure and whether it’s right for you. The doctor considers your body shape and condition, health, age, and other factors.
If your plastic surgeon finds that you’re not a good candidate for surgery, you can ask about nonsurgical fat removal choices.
You’ll learn about potential benefits, risks, and what to expect before and after procedures. Your doctor may share examples of treatment results for conditions or procedures similar to yours. At Faith Regional, we offer advanced 3D imaging. This helps you and your doctor to visualize and discuss your potential results using your own simulated image.
Liposuction treats problematic areas such as:
- Abdominal area
- Arms
- Back
- Buttocks
- Calves and ankles
- Chest
- Face, chin, and neck
- Hips
- Knee
- Thighs
Your doctor can do liposuction alone or as part of other procedures, such as:
To have liposuction, you should meet these and other additional requirements:
- Adult, within 30% of your ideal weight
- Firm elastic skin and good muscle tone
- Healthy, with no life-threatening illness or conditions that can hinder healing
- Nonsmoker
- Positive attitude, clear goals, and reasonable expectations
Risks of Liposuction
Your plastic surgeon will be sure that you fully understand any procedure, including the potential benefits and risks of liposuction. It’s important to ask questions so your doctor can clarify anything you don’t understand.
Risks of liposuction include:
- Adverse reaction to anesthesia
- Bruising
- Changes in skin sensation
- Damage to nerves, blood vessels, muscles, lungs, and abdominal organs
- Deep vein thrombosis, cardiac and pulmonary complications
- Accumulation of fluids
- Infection
- Irregular or uneven curves or pigmentation
- Need for a later revision surgery
- Poor wound healing
- Rippled or loose skin and cellulite that gets worse
- Swelling
- Thermal burn or heat injury if ultrasound is used
Preparing for Liposuction Surgery
Your plastic surgeon and other practitioners at Faith Regional will give you individualized information, guidance, and answers to your questions. You’ll get specific details about how to plan, where to go, and what to do on the day of your procedure. You’ll learn about your expected recovery process.
Your preparation for liposuction may include:
- Lab tests
- Medical evaluation
- Health history
- Review of your condition
- Review of medications and supplements
- Guidance about medications before and after surgery
- Instructions to stop smoking
- Instructions about post-operative care
Liposuction Surgery
- Before surgery, you’ll get medicine to help you feel comfortable. A nurse may place an IV line in your hand or arm. If you have general anesthesia, you’ll get medication through a mask. You won’t feel anything during liposuction surgery.
- Your plastic surgeon makes a small incision and delivers diluted local anesthesia. The doctor inserts a thin tube through the incision and moves the tube back and forth to loosen fat. Your surgeon uses a surgical tool or syringe to suction fat out of your body. The doctor treats the belly, thighs, and other targeted areas with the same procedure.
- Your surgeon closes and covers the incisions.
- You’re taken to a recovery room for monitoring while you awaken. After that, you’ll go to a hospital room to rest.
After Liposuction
At pre-surgery appointments, your doctor will discuss your expected post-surgery recovery process.
- You’ll have a compression garment or elastic bandages over treated parts of your body. These help to manage any swelling and compress your skin to its new shape.
You’ll have information to contact us if you have questions or concerns, including round-the-clock access if needed. Your personalized care instructions will include:
- How to care for the areas of your body that were treated
- What medications to take or use topically to help you heal and reduce the chance of infection
- Symptoms to watch for that you should promptly report to your doctor
- Information about follow-up care, including removal of any stitches or drains, and appointments with your plastic surgeon
Liposuction Results
Results may take several months as swelling gradually goes down. Scarring will fade over time. You’ll have some permanent scars, but they’ll be small and inconspicuous.
You should begin to notice smooth and improved contours in treated parts of your body.
Your Plastic Surgery Team
At Faith Regional, your plastic surgeon, a specialized nurse and other healthcare professionals such as an advanced care practitioner and aesthetician may be involved in your care.
Schedule a Consultation
You can reach us at 402-844-8167 or email frpsclinics@frhs.org to schedule an appointment.