Tumescent Liposuction – Local Anesthesia
Liposuction is a surgical technique that improves the body’s contour by removing excess fat from fatty deposits located between the skin and muscle. Localized accumulations of fat, which are often hereditary and frequently impossible to eliminate by exercise or dieting, can now be removed permanently by liposuction surgery, never to plague you again.
Liposuction involves the use of a small stainless steel tube called a cannula. Connected at one end to a specialized suction pump, the cannula is inserted through tiny skin incisions. The removal of fat is accomplished as the suction cannula creates tiny tunnels through the fatty layers.
What areas can be treated by liposuction?
The most frequently treated areas in women are the abdomen, hips, thighs, knees, calves, ankles, and beneath the chin. In men, who comprise about 25% to 30% of patients who undergo liposuction, the most commonly treated areas include the “love handles”, abdomen, breasts and the neck and chin area.
Are the results of liposuction permanent?
Fat cells that are removed by liposuction do not grow back. As long as the patient does not gain an excessive amount of weight, the new more pleasing silhouette is permanent.
New advanced tumescent technique has made liposuction simpler and faster. The Tumescent Technique of liposuction was developed in 1985.
The Tumescent technique involves the use of large volumes of a dilute solution of lidocaine (a local anesthetic) in combination with the vasoconstrictive drug, epinephrine, which shrinks blood vessels.
Local anesthesia used in the Tumescent technique for liposuction is so effective that patients no longer need intravenous sedatives, narcotic analgesics, or general anesthesia. This technique is now considered the safest form of liposuction for removing very large amounts of fat because there is virtually no blood loss. Not only has the Tumescent technique proven to be safer than the standard technique using general anesthesia, but it also has proven to be less painful, has minimal post operative recovery time, and produces optimal cosmetic results.
With the Tumescent technique, infiltrating the local anesthesia is associated with minimal discomfort. Once the area has been completely numbed, surgery in that area is essentially painless. In addition, because the numbness remains in the treated area for more than 12 hours, there is no pain immediately after surgery
What are the risks?
As with any surgical procedure, liposuction is associated with certain common side effects such as bruising, swelling, and temporary numbness.
Although irregularities of the skin are possible following liposuction, this side effect is minimized by the Tumescent technique. Because of the slow resolution of post liposuction swelling, the ultimate results following liposuction usually require 12 to 16 weeks to become fully apparent.
Nevertheless, patients can usually see dramatic improvements within two to four weeks after surgery.
Does Tumescent reduce the risk of infection?
Infections are extremely rare, regardless of whether or not the anesthetic technique is that of general anesthesia or local anesthesia. Lidocaine, the local anesthetic that is used for the Tumescent technique, kills bacteria.
With the Tumescent technique the areas that are being treated surgically are those same areas that will receive the local anesthetic that kills bacteria.
When can I return to normal activities?
Because of the significant decrease in swelling, inflammation and pain after surgery, patients are able to return to normal physical activities very soon after the procedure. There is no limitation of physical activity other than what common sense would dictate. Some patients are able to return to jogging, golf, or light aerobic exercise within a day or two after surgery.
Some patients do find the soreness after surgery to be more significant than others, but on the average, most patients are surprised at how quickly they are able to return to normal activity.
Laser Liposuction
Why Smartlipo Triplex™?
- Tighter Skin—Smartlipo Triplex™ allows more complete melting of the fat using advanced
MultiPlex (MPX) laser techniques, in which two wavelengths of laser energy are used for not only superior sculpting of the fat, but also, the biggest advancement in liposuction surgery-skin tightening. The MPX Smartlipo Triplex™ is unique in that it gives Dr. Petti the opportunity to focus on skin tightening following fat reduction, and this produces smoother, more natural and superior aesthetic results. - Minimal Recovery Time—Smartlipo Triplex™ can be done under local anesthesia, and therefore patients are ambulatory following the procedure, with no downtime. In fact, it would be more accurate to describe Smartlipo Triplex™ under local anesthesia, as being associated with “up” time! This has been very rewarding for the patients, Dr. Petti and her staff.
- Minimally Invasive—The Smartlipo Triplex™ is a minimally-invasive laser surgical technique, performed by using a smaller-than-a-fine-point-pen fiber optic laser. Therefore, the entry points in the skin are very small and leave an inconspicuous scar. The laser wavelengths close down the blood vessels, so the result is associated with not only minimal surgical trauma, but also minimal bruising, swelling and resultant quick recovery. There is minimal discomfort, and Dr. Petti’s patients often tell her that they did not need to take any pain medications the evening of surgery. The Smartlipo Triplex™ patients that have local anesthesia can drive the next day if they are off of pain medications and can return to their normal daily activities in one to two days after surgery, depending on each individual patient.
- Targets Unwanted Pockets of Fat—Smartlipo Triplex™ can also be used to treat larger areas of fat accumulation or multiple areas of fatty deposits. However, in these cases the patient may need to have general anesthesia. It is normal in these patients for the recovery to be longer. Some patients may prefer to have several areas treated at one surgical setting. These patients are done in her private, ambulatory plastic surgery center under the guidance and supervision of board-certified and experienced anesthesiologists
Vanquish
Gluteal Fat Grafting Augmentation (working on wording)
Breast Fat Grafting Augmentation
If you are thinking about breast augmentation, but are not really sold on implants, fat transfer, or fat grafting, to the breast may be an option.
Fat grafting to the breast, or “natural breast augmentation,” involves taking fat from places in the body such as your buttocks or thighs, where it is plentiful, and implanting it in your breasts. Also known as autologous fat transplantation, fat transfer to the breast was once ill-advised, but it is slowly and surely finding its place in the repertoire of many breast augmentation surgeons.
As it stands, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery state that fat injections to the breast can be used to enhance breast appearance after breast reconstruction or to soften the appearance of implants by eliminating wrinkling, dimpling or even capsular contracture. These injections may one day have a role in primary cosmetic breast augmentation.
Fat Grafting to the Breast: The Controversy
Some doctors were initially concerned that injected fat might calcify and obscure readings on breast X-rays (mammograms) or be mistaken for early breast cancer. The latest studies show no such risk. In fact, it’s actually easier to visualize breast tissue in breasts that were augmented with fat compared to breast tissue in breasts with saline or silicone implants.
Fat grafting breast augmentation may not affect breast cancer risk or detection, but there are still technical concerns surrounding its use. For starters, there is no consensus regarding how much fat is needed to adequately enlarge a breast.
Additionally, the fat must develop a blood supply of its own to survive. If it doesn’t, it disappears. If it does develop a blood supply, it becomes a living tissue and can grow if you put on weight or shrink if you lose weight.
So the questions remaining are how much is too much and how little is too little?
The answers are not yet known. Fat transfer breast augmentation’s success also depends on your surgeon’s skill and technique.
Fat Grafting to the Breast: The Stem Cell Solution
Some plastic surgeons who perform fat grafting to the breast say the secret to their success is in the stem cells. “Pluripotent,” adipose-derived stem cells live in fatty tissue and can change into any of the types of cells found in the human body — including fat cells. These stem cells should not be confused with controversial embryonic stem cells. Instead, they are viable adult stem cells that can be extracted from your own fat.
Certain fat processing techniques may yield higher concentrations of adult stem cells, which may provide long-lasting, breast-enhancing results. These stem cells basically regenerate fat from within, turning cells into mini fat cell factories. This approach is widely used in Europe and Asia. There is no evidence showing that injecting fat replete with stem cells into the breast will induce the growth of breast cancer.
Fat Grafting Breast Augmentation: Are You a Candidate?
Fat transfer to the breast may be an option if you are attempting to enhance your breasts’ appearance after breast reconstruction or want to soften the look of your implants. As far as primary breast augmentation goes, fat grafting, in the right hands, may provide breasts that look and feel more natural. Some women do not like the feel of a saline breast implant, while a breast that is enhanced with autologous fat does feel natural. Fat grafting to the breast can increase breast size (but likely by less than one cup), create cleavage and improve the shape of tuberous or “Snoopy” breasts. These enhancements may even be permanent, or semi-permanent with some maintenance injections.
Fat Grafting to the Breast: What to Expect
Fat grafting to the breast is basically a two-part procedure. The first step is to harvest and process the fat. The fat can be harvested via liposuction, ultrasound assisted liposuction, laser liposuction or water-assisted liposuction.
Some surgeons suggest wearing tissue expanders such as the Brava System to stretch your skin before the fat injections. Your surgeon will tell you how often to wear the expander to achieve the results you desire. These devices pull your breast tissue and place your breast under tension to encourage the cells to replicate.
There are benefits and risks to all surgeries, including fat transfer to the breast.
For example, you can’t go as big with fat injections to the breast as you could with saline or silicone breast implants. Depending on your goals, this could be a downside.
Other risks may include cosmetic dissatisfaction, asymmetry, unpredictable results, infection or fat migration. There are also risks relating to the way the fat is harvested. For example, liposuction may be associated with increased risk for anesthesia reactions, infection, or burns (with laser or ultrasound-assisted liposuction, in particular).
Advocates state that the benefits of fat grafting to the breast over breast augmentation with implants include no risk of rejection or allergic reaction since it is your own tissue. Fat transfer breast augmentation also allows doctors to sculpt the breast, as opposed to placing pre-formed, manufactured breast implants.
Fat Grafting to the Breast: The Bottom Line
Fat injections do have a role in breast reconstruction and in enhancing the appearance of implants by evening out irregularities. They may have a role in primary breast augmentation if the procedure is performed by an experienced surgeon, the availability of which will likely increase as more surgeons refine their techniques for fat grafting breast enhancement.
Sclerotherapy – For great looking legs!
Spider veins are those tiny purple and red vessels found most commonly on the thighs or lower legs of women. They can form anywhere on the leg, from the top of the thigh to the ankle.
Varicose veins are larger. They can appear raised with a bluish color and can become painful. Although spider veins and varicose veins carry blood, they are not part of the venous valve system. Your spider veins and varicose veins can be eliminated permanently through a simple office procedure called Sclerotherapy.
The Sclerotherapy treatment was developed in 1920’s. During the procedure, a sclerosing solution is injected into the vein thought a microneedle.
The sclerosing solution causes the vein to blanch (turn white), then gradually disappear. A typical treatment may last for 30 to 45 minutes and consist of multiple injections.
Injection Sclerotherapy may eliminate the need for an invasive surgical procedure.
Complete correction of the treated area is not expected on the first treatment. In most cases, about 50 to 70% of the treated vessels will be gone for good. However, new veins may appear and additional treatments are generally required for optimum results. These treatments may be done in three weeks intervals.
Please consult with Dr. Marks to determine the best recommendation for your particular needs.