Any type of surgical procedure, like liposuction, begins with the injection of anesthesia, whether local or general. The term anesthesia literally means "without pain". Hence, it is administered to help create a numbing effect on specific areas of the body where surgery is to be performed.
However, the decision on whether to use local or general anesthesia is what you should be aware of. In local anesthesia, the doctor will inject the numbing solution on a targeted area of the body. Therefore, the patient remains conscious during the entire liposuction procedure.
General anesthesia, on the other hand, is administered in two ways: through a needle injection or as gas. This will put the patient to sleep while the surgeon performs the operation. When the patient awakes following the procedure, he or she will still feel numbness in the treated area of the body with little to no pain.
1) The Actual Liposuction Procedure
Concept-wise, the procedure for liposuction is quite simple. However, complications could arise due to lack of experience and knowledge on the surgeon's part. Here is a basic outline on what goes on in the actual process of liposuction surgery.
2) Making Incisions
Once anesthesia has been administered and the numbing effect starts to take its effect on the patient's body, the surgeon can now start the first step in the liposuction procedure - creating the incisions. In some cases, extra fluids are injected before the incision is made.
Then, a tiny incision is done on the specific area of the body to be treated. The size of the incision varies from 1/4 to 3/4 inch.
3) Removal of Fat
After the incision, your surgeon can now insert a narrow vacuum tube called a cannula. From the incision, the tube penetrates into the deep layers of fat. As the surgeon moves the cannula back and forth, it will cause the fat cells to break up into more manageable pieces. Then, a vacuum pump or syringe is used to suction them out of the body.
The amount of blood and other fluids lost during this process requires replacement fluid for the body.
4) Closing the Incisions
It depends on your surgeon's discretion whether to close the incision by stitching them up or leaving them open. Other doctors choose the latter option because it decreases the amount of bruising and swelling suffered by the patient after surgery.
5) Post-Surgical Procedures
After the completion of liposuction procedure, a certain amount of fluid is maintained beneath the surface of your skin. If your doctor decides to stitch up the incision, those fluids will easily drain leading to the formation of bruises and swelling. Therefore, doctors often suggest that their patient wear elastic compression garment (think of a girdle) after the surgery. This will cause your blood vessels to absorb all those extra fluids.
Meanwhile, doctors can opt to leave the incision open several days after the procedure. This enables the fluid to drain away from the area, a few days after the surgery. You will also be asked to wear a compression garment so as to properly drain those fluids. Aside from that, you will also avoid staining your clothes with blood or other fluid.