Truths About Liposuction

Q1: I am 36 yrs old, 5 ft 3in. and weighing 180lbs, mother of three. I have tried dieting and lost a significant amount of weight but after a short time I would gain it back. I am weary of this yo-yo effect and I heard that liposuction might be a permanent remedy to my weight problem. Is this true? Is it also true that the cost would depend on how many pounds are removed?

Answer: The effectivity of liposuction is based on the premise that after puberty our body stops producing new fat cells. The number of fat cells thus remains constant. In times of food abundance, any extra calories we eat are stored as fat in the fat cell or lipocyte and the fat cell just grows bigger and not increase in number. When we grow thinner the number of fat cells we have is not also reduced but the individual fat cells just grow smaller. Just to give you an idea how much bigger we can get, it has been found out that each lipocyte has a potential of increasing its size by about 150 times.

So what does these all mean? It means that once fat is removed by liposuction, the number of fat cells is reduced permanently, because the body cannot create new fat cells to replace what has been removed. If patients grew bigger or regained the bulges, this means the doctor who did the liposuction left behind a significant number of fat cells that could still store a significant amount of fat. So in simple terms, the effects of a properly done liposuction are definitely permanent.

To answer your second question, the cost of liposuction does not depend on the amount of fat removed but rather on the number of areas treated. The cost difference of treatment between an obese patient and someone who is thin but has unwanted bulges is minimal.

Q2: My friend advised me to undergo endermologie after liposuction. How is it done and is it really effective?

Answer:Patients who think that endermologie is not effective either did not understand the objectives of the treatment or did not follow instructions. Improvement after treatment is definite and this is documented by before and after and on going treatment pictures. Endermologie was invented to treat cellulite but surgeons found out it is also good to smoothen and soften the skin after lipo. The procedure is actually hi-tech massage using suction and a special machine that smoothens the irregularities. Each session takes about 40 minutes and is done once or twice a week 10 to 21 times. The results start to be appreciated after the 5th or 6th session. Very competitive rates are offered in our clinic.

Q3: Among my circle of friends I am one of those who had been planning to have liposuction but still have some doubts whether the procedure is really effective in removing the fat permanently. I have seen some of the results and honestly I am not yet convinced thoroughly since some of them have their bulges back again after a few months while others have a lot of irregularities on the surface of the skin. Recently I talked with a friend who had liposuction and her results are far better and she told me that a new technique was used on her. What is this superwet, superficial technique of liposuction? How is different from the tumescent technique. What is power assisted liposuction?

Ans: Like in any other areas in medicine or surgery techniques and equipment are improved over time. You can consider your self luckier than your friends who had liposuction with the older techniques because currently the methods are a lot better in terms of safety and results. In the last 10 years a lot of new techniques were introduced in liposuction, like the use of ultrasonic equipment and the tumescent technique. Some of these were effective but some had more complications

For more information about liposuction and to reach Dr. Joaquino, please call Jane at 09279350405.