LIPOSUCTION AND LIPOSCULPTURE IN SPAIN. REGAIN YOUR SILHOUETTE!

Liposuction is a medical technique that dissolves surplus and accumulated fat in determined parts of the body (abdomen, hips, arms, back, face, waist…) so as to later extract it through a cannula using a suction effect.

 The classic technique involves the extraction of fat through a cannula using a mechanic movement.

Currently, laser is used to eliminate the fat. The heat from the light emitted by the device dissolves the fat and this is extracted through a cannula that is much thinner than the one used in traditional liposuction, or also using a syringe.

This new technique has allowed us to reduce the trauma and bleeding, improve the retraction of the skin and not damage the stem cells so that they can be used as filling for other parts of the body (buttocks, breasts…) For example, liposuction of the back and flanks (love handles) can be performed and this fat transferred to the buttocks to get a more feminine curve.

With regard to this, the team of specialists in liposuction at Antiaging Group Barcelona (Spain) opts for a combination of various techniques to get the best results. As well as the laser technique, radio frequency can be combined with it to treat flaccidity and cellulite. Liposuction can also be combined with other surgical techniques such as face lifting, abdominal surgery (tummy tuck) and muscle lifting to tighten relaxed skin and support structures.

The Antiaging Group Barcelona (Spain) Clinic has been chosen as a pioneer group in Spain by Alma Laser, a leading Israeli company in laser technology applied to medicine, to use its lipolaser LIPOLIFE™. It is a new system of radial laser which is used in liposuction and it allows us to separate the fatty tissue without destroying the fat cells. This means the whole procedure is safer, less aggressive and less traumatic for the patient.

Until now when we talked about the lipolaser, we associated it with tissue destruction. But by destroying the cells, in the end, it wasn’t possible to use them to make a graft.

The great advantages of the Lipolife™ laser are:

• Increased safety
• The fatty tissue can be used as a graft in breast augmentation using fat, buttock augmentation or hand rejuvenation.
• It is less traumatic for the tissue and the patient, reducing bleeding.

• Neck: treatment for the double chin and to improve the angle of the neck. Usually associated with facelifts.
• Arms: great quantities of fat can be removed (1000 cc) with very good skin retraction.
• Abdomen: in patients who are young or who have good skin tone the extra fat (love handles) can be eliminated with good results. If the muscles are weak because of pregnancies, or there is a lot of extra skin, it is better to opt for open surgery (abdominal surgery – tummy tuck). The flanks zone is especially appreciative of being aspirated.
• Back: the “love handles” of the back give very good results after being treated with liposuction.
• Buttocks and thighs: is the most popular zone. The most important thing when applying this technique is not to empty it, but to shape the contour.  Associating radio frequency with liposuction has allowed us to improve the results in this zone even more.
• Knees: it is possible to eliminate the pockets of fat that appear in the inner part of the knees and above the kneecap.
• Legs: It involves reshaping above all the area of the ankles, where fat tends to accumulate. The natural curves of the musculature of the leg can also be redefined (calves).

Depending on the number and size of the zones to be treated, it could require local anaesthetic, local anaesthetic plus sedation, an epidural or general anaesthetic. In any case, the patient is always controlled with anaesthetic.

After liposuction, the results are not immediate. The results start to be visible two or three months after the treatment. Two months after the operation, treatment with radio frequency can be started to improve skin tone.

Liposuction is a low-risk cosmetic surgery if it is done by an experienced surgeon in adequate facilities.

After surgery there will be swelling and bruising that can take up to two or three weeks to go. It is necessary to have massages and to wear a compression garment to reduce the inflammation.

This is one of the most frequently asked questions. After liposuction, the fat doesn’t return to the treated area, but it can accumulate in other zones. A recent study confirms this hypothesis. They compared women who were of similar age and body mass index, some of whom had liposuction on their hips and thighs and others who were not operated on. Initially the operated patients had a reduction in their body mass index compared to those who weren’t operated on, but a year later there was no difference. What had happened? They hadn’t increased in fat in the operated zone but they had increased in fat in the zone of the abdomen, showing that the fat had been redistributed.

 We can conclude that liposuction is an effective treatment for localized deposits of fat in different parts of the body (hips, abdomen, torso, buttocks, thighs, knees, calves and ankles, face and neck) but it is not a treatment for losing weight.

Segmented lipomodelling is a more affordable method than complete liposuction of the abdomen or thighs. It is done especially on the flanks (love handles) and in the zone between the buttocks and thigh (gluteal fold or “banana fold”).

Firstly, the zone is prepared with two sessions of radio frequency to begin the process of dermal repair and to start the contraction of the skin. After these two sessions, liposuction with a thin cannula is done using local anaesthetic. With liposuction we eliminate the surplus fat. In the gluteal fold (or “banana fold”) we also carry out on many occasions the infiltration of fat right in the depression between it and the thigh below.

The work of the thin cannula is to allow us to peel off the skin subcutaneously and favour the formation of a scar which will retract the skin from the zone. For a month after the surgical phase massages are recommended in the zone to help reduce the swelling. Finally, a month after the surgery two more sessions of radio frequency are given. In total, 3 months of treatment are needed to achieve an optimum result.

There is a difference between two situations: cellulite and lipodystrophy.

Lipodystrophy involves the accumulation of localized fat in determined zones such as thighs, buttocks, abdomen and arms. This fat is not eliminated by diet because it has hereditary and hormonal causes. However, liposuction can eliminate it definitively.

On the other hand, cellulite involves an alteration in the subcutaneous tissue that causes nodules and depressions. Treatment to improve cellulite goes from creams to surgery. There is no treatment that is completely effective due to the fact that the causes are multiple and complex. However, radio frequency, ultrasound and infrared lasers have proved to be effective in combating cellulite.

So the answer to the question as to whether liposuction can improve, worsen or eliminate cellulite is that, each case depends on the characteristics of each patient.

The traditional treatment to eliminate severe hip fat (saddle bags) is liposuction. It is the quickest and most effective method to eliminate the excess fat. It isn’t a very painful zone and is easy to anaesthetize. If liposuction is to be combined with treatments in the thigh, knees or buttocks it is better to do it with an epidural anaesthetic. Treatment doesn’t require hospitalization.

Liposuction eliminates the deep part of the fatty tissue but in the superficial part we have to be careful to avoid dimpling or irregularities.

After the surgery there will be a certain amount of swelling and bruising that will take two or three weeks to disappear. It is necessary to have massages and to wear a compression garment for a month. In general terms it is a good area for treatment and gives very good results. If there is flaccidity it is useful to treat it with radio frequency to try and reduce it, above all in the back part of the hips

On occasion, to get better results in eliminating hip fat (saddle bags) liposuction is done alongside intralipotherapy and ultracavitation.