1. How does Liposuction work?
Liposuction removes fat deposits anywhere in the body. A small incision is made in the skin, and a narrow tube (cannula) vacuums the fat away.
2. What is Laser Assisted Liposuction?
Laser assisted liposuction uses a laser to melt the fat before liposuction. The laser is useful in scarred or fibrous areas and may cause additional skin tightening. SmartLipo™ and SlimLipo™ are proprietary names for laser assisted liposuction devices. Both SmartLipo™ and SlimLipo™ are available at PitmanLiposuction™. Click here for more information on laser liposuction.
3. What is Power Assisted Liposuction (PAL)?
PAL uses a vibrating cannula to vacuum out the fat. The vibrations permit easier, less traumatic, passage of the cannula through the fat and make the fat evacuation more efficient and faster. PAL can be used as a stand-alone procedure or to vacuum out the fat after the fat has been melted by one of the destructive modalities: Vaser™, the laser, or Body Tite™. PAL is available at PitmanLiposuction™.
4. What is Water Assisted Liposuction (Body-Jet™)?
Water assisted liposuction uses a pulsating fine spray of salt water to deliver local anesthesia and to flush out fat during the liposuction process. The procedure is gentle and nondestructive and has the theoretical advantage of a more complete removal of fat from beneath the skin. Water assisted liposuction is available at PitmanLiposuction™ and can also be used in conjunction with the laser or PAL.
5. What is the Vaser™?
Vaser™ uses an ultrasound probe to melt the fat prior to liposuction.
6. What is Body Tite™?
Body Tite™ is a new device which simultaneously melts fat, suctions fat, and heats the skin and supporting tissues. The device is very efficient since it uses a one-stage procedure with heating and suctioning occurring simultaneously. The heating is controlled with real-time monitoring of skin surface temperatures. The goal is to remove fat and tighten skin. Body Tite™ has been approved by the European Equivalent of the FDA. The device has been granted Institutional Review Board approval in the United States for an ongoing clinical study seeking FDA approval. Dr. Pitman is a clinical investigator in the study.
7. Of all these methods, which is the best one?
Good question. The most important determinant of the quality of your result is the skill and experience of the surgeon and not the particular device used. Dr. Pitman chooses an individual treatment program for each patient and uses whichever technique or combination of techniques is best for a particular patient.
8. There are certain areas that no matter how hard I work out don’t go away. Can liposuction help?
Absolutely yes! Liposuction is a superb method for removing localized fat deposits and is permanent provided that the patient follows a healthy diet.
9. Why is Liposuction permanent?
Liposuction is permanent because the number of microscopic fat cells (adipocytes) does not change after puberty. Adults have about 40 billion adipocytes and don’t make any new ones. Rather, we become thinner or fatter by reducing or increasing the amount of fat in each cell. Each individual fat cell gets smaller as we lose weight, and each individual fat cell gets larger as we gain weight.
For example, if liposuction is done on the outer thighs, and 50% of the fat cells in the outer thighs are removed, the patient will always have 50% less ability to deposit fat in the outer thighs. Body proportion is permanently changed even if the patient gains or losses weight.
Obviously, extreme weight gain will put cause an individual to deposit fat even in areas that have been treated. Best results are obtained when patients follow a healthy diet and exercise program.
10. What happens if I lose weight after liposuction?
If you were overweight before liposuction and lose the excess weight after liposuction by following a healthy lifestyle, your results will be even better. Also you will feel better and have more energy.
11. What happens if I gain weight after liposuction?
Liposuction is not a license to eat. Should you gain weight following liposuction, you will tend to deposit fat in areas other than those that were treated. One cannot predict where the fat will go.
12. What if my weight doesn’t change after liposuction?
First of all, liposuction is not a weight loss procedure. No matter how much fat is removed by liposuction, there is no permanent weight loss unless you follow a healthy diet. If you undergo liposuction and don’t lose any weight, you will deposit fat in areas that have not had liposuction. But the good news is that the liposuction is done in very specific, concentrated areas, and any redistribution of fat tends to be more diffused. So, even if your weight remains the same your body proportions will have been permanently changed in a favorable way because you will have lost fat permanently from the areas that bother you most.
13. Which Areas can be treated with PitmanLiposuction™?
PitmanLiposuction™ can be used to treat fat pockets all over the body:
14. What is the recovery process like for PitmanLiposuction™?
Recovery is very quick when PitmanLiposuction™ is done under local anesthesia as there is no added recovery from general anesthesia or deep sedation. Even if the patient has general anesthesia, local tumescent anesthesia is still used which means that the patient requires less general anesthesia and recovers more quickly and with less grogginess. The tumescent local anesthesia also lasts for 8-10 hours after the procedure, greatly reducing post-operative pain and frequently obviating the need for post-operative narcotics.
15. Who is the ideal candidate?
The ideal candidate lives a healthy lifestyle, but has stubborn pockets of fat that don’t respond to diet and exercise.
To schedule a consultation, call (212) 517-2600 or e-mail the office.