Achieving your ideal body often takes a lot of hard work and discipline. You have to stick to a certain diet, exercise regularly, and take care of your body to ensure that you stay fit and healthy. Even those who were born with amazing genes cannot always escape the effects of ageing, free radicals, and environmental toxins. This is why we sometimes need the help of modern science to achieve our ideal body shape and weight.
Liposuction is the modern solution to our problems. Liposuction or body contouring Toronto methods have been used for years to help men and women lose those pesky pounds that just won’t seem to go away despite intense dieting and exercise. There have been many myths and misconceptions about liposuction for the past few decades, but we know the truth. More than just a tool for vanity, liposuction also has tremendous health benefits and long-lasting positive effects.
What is liposuction?
Liposuction is a surgical procedure that entails the removal of fat from targeted areas of the body. Modern liposuction techniques use special tools to heat and liquefy fat before removing it through gentle aspiration. The heat created through the procedure allows the surrounding tissues to contract, allowing for reduced inflammation compared to liposuction methods used in the past.
Many areas of the body may qualify for liposuction, including the neck, chin, cheeks, upper arms, abdomen, back, buttocks, thighs, knees, and calves. The process of liposuction also gives the area a slimmer, more contoured shape.
Older methods of liposuction may make the patient prone to bruising and sagging skin, but more recent procedures have proven to be much safer and more effective. More current liposuction techniques, such as SmartLipo promote skin elasticity and have a more gentle approach to fat removal from the body.
Liposuction is also called lipoplasty, body contouring, or lipo.
Who is a good candidate?
Liposuction is not a treatment for being overweight. Rather, it helps reasonably healthy people remove unwanted fat pockets that don’t seem to respond to a healthy diet and regular exercise. You must be at or near your ideal body weight to be considered a good candidate for liposuction. This helps to ensure the best possible outcomes for your body type.
If you are still far from your goal weight, your doctor will suggest alternative surgeries or weight loss methods.
Keep in mind that liposuction is an invasive surgery that involves a significant downtime and recovery period. Therefore, you must be in relatively good shape before you can undergo liposuction. An ideal candidate must:
- Have no significant health problems, such as diabetes, blood clotting disorders, or hypertension
- Have healthy skin that has good elasticity and is not prone to keloid formation
- Have good muscle tone
- Be within at least 30% of their ideal body weight
You should also refrain from smoking before your surgery and during the recovery period. Smoking may weaken your immune system and prevent you from healing properly. Secondhand smoking may do more damage to your body, so make sure that you first have a conversation with family members, friends, or co-workers who smoke.
What are the benefits of liposuction?
Apart from the aesthetic benefits of improving your outer appearance, liposuction also gives you some functional benefits. These include:
Improved mobility. The loss of weight and cumbersome fatty deposits may help you move better and give you more joint flexibility. This is ideal for athletes or those who perform physically demanding jobs.
Permanent fat cell removal. Liposuction removes fat cells permanently, but only from the treated area. You will still have fat cells in other parts of the body, so remember to keep yourself within your ideal weight.
Lipoma treatment. Lipomas are benign, fatty tumors that may be removed through liposuction.
Losing weight can improve others’ perception of you. Reaching your ideal body type improves how you feel about yourself, which helps you carry yourself more confidently. This confidence you radiate reaches the people around you.
Many people are attracted to confidence. Eventually, people will change the way they interact with you.
How does liposuction work?
Storing fat is a natural bodily process. The excess fat from the food you eat is transferred into your fat cells to be stored as an energy reservoir. Your fat cells or adipocytes are capable of expanding in size and volume. When you lose weight, your fat cells simply shrink, but they remain in place making future weight gain a possibility.
Liposuction acts directly on fat cells and destroys them, acting as a preventive measure against unwanted weight gain.
Dr. DuPéré will begin the procedure by marking areas to be targeted and disinfecting these thoroughly. Once the anesthesia kicks in, a small incision will be made on a discreet area wherein a cannula will be inserted. The cannula for modern liposuctions typically uses some form of heat energy that can melt fat on contact. The liquefied fat will then slowly be aspirated, completing the actual liposuction procedure. The incision will then be cleaned and dressed.
The entire procedure may last from 1 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the area covered.
There will be some swelling, pain, and tenderness in the incision site. This may last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Everyone will heal at a different rate, so make sure you take it easy for a while. Dr. DuPéré may prescribe pain medications to relieve any discomfort and antibiotics to make sure your incisions are healing properly.
What type of anesthesia will be used?
Depending on the areas to be covered, you will either get general or local anesthesia. The former is usually for larger areas that may need more time to work on. If you get local anesthesia, you will be awake and responsive for the procedure, but you may still feel a bit groggy afterward.
Make sure that you arrange for someone to drive you to and from the clinic on the day of your surgery. The anesthesia will wear off within the day, but it’s better to have someone with you to make sure that you aren’t overexerting yourself right after your medical procedure.
How do I prepare for body contouring?
Before surgery, you must sit down with Dr. DuPéré to discuss your goals and expectations regarding the areas you want to target. During this discussion, Dr. DuPéré will also take your medical history and note any medications you are currently on. This is so that any side effects or adverse reactions can be anticipated and avoided.
Dr. DuPéré may ask you to discontinue any blood-thinning medications, muscle relaxants, and sedatives for 2 to 3 weeks before your procedure. These may interfere with the natural healing process or clash with the use of anesthesia. Keep in mind that you should disclose all types of medications you are taking, including food supplements. Fish oil, vitamin E, and ginkgo biloba may have blood-thinning effects, so you will have to stop taking them before getting your liposuction.
How long is the recovery period?
Many people can resume their usual routines after 2-3 days, including light exercise. If you had several areas treated or had other procedures done concurrently with your liposuction, you might need more time to recover. In any case, consider staying off your feet for at least a full week to speed your healing process along.
Your recovery will involve a lot of effort on your part. You have to watch your diet and avoid foods that might make you bloat or increase the swelling. You also have to wear a post-op compression garment that fits snugly over the affected area.
Compression garments are normally worn for 22 hours a day for 3 weeks. Then, the wearing time is tapered to 12 hours for another 3 weeks. You cannot discontinue the use of a compression garment without your doctor’s approval. Doing so may lead to increased swelling and pain. Don’t worry, you can wear normal clothes over the compression garment.
Are there any risks involved?
As with all invasive surgeries, there are some risks attached to liposuction, but they can be avoided with proper preparation and after-care. Perhaps the most important contributor to minimizing risks is choosing a reputable, expert cosmetic surgeon to perform your liposuction.
Remember that price doesn’t always equal quality. Dr. DuPéré regularly perform liposuction in Toronto with very low rates or even zero rates of infections and other preventable side effects. Be sure to carefully screen and choose your doctor before you decide on getting your procedure done.
Listed below are some risks of liposuction. Keep in mind that you may or may not experience any of these, but it’s always best to stay on the side of caution.
Numbness.
Inflammation and fluid accumulation.
Contour irregularities.
Anesthesia toxicity.
Heart and kidney issues.
Infections.
What are the different procedures for body contouring in Toronto?
The best clinic in Toronto not only has the most well-known and revered cosmetic surgeon, but also the latest and best equipment for the job. Liposuction in Toronto is world-class and you can rest assured our practice has the most effective procedures available anywhere.
Below are some of the best types of liposuction methods done today:
SmartLipo
SmartLipo uses laser energy to liquefy the fat before gentle aspiration through a microcannula. Through a small incision, a tube containing the laser probe is inserted directly into the fat cells where it emits heat. The heat generated by the laser is not only enough to liquefy the surrounding fat, but it also minimizes bruising by cutting off small blood cells near the area.
One of the best features of SmartLipo is that the heat emitted from the laser also causes surrounding tissues to contract, resulting in a smoother, firmer, and more sculpted skin surface. This minimizes the risk for contour issues and reduces the need for skin-tightening cosmetic procedures.
VaserLipo
Ultrasonic energy is utilized in VaserLipo to melt off fat cells. Similar to SmartLipo, a small tube with a probe is inserted through an incision in the skin. Sound waves are generated by the probe and its vibrational energy causes surrounding fat cells to liquefy. Once this is done, the milky liquid fat cells are then very slowly aspirated.
VaserLipo exerts a more gentle energy force that does not end up destroying the fat cells. This allows the liquefied fat to be used in fat grafting procedures. People sometimes joke about transferring fat from their stomachs into their buttocks. This is one of the best ways to accomplish this. Make sure to discuss your goals thoroughly with your doctor so you can both determine if liposuction and subsequent fat grafting procedure are doable.
Since VaserLipo is so gentle, it does not have the added effect of skin contraction, unlike SmartLipo. If the patient has poor skin elasticity or experiences unusual healing in the treated area, follow-up procedures may be done to correct the sagging skin.
BodyTite Lipo
BodyTite Lipo is one of the safest methods available owing to the internal and external sensors that reduce any risk of the laser overheating while inside the body. BodyTite Lipo uses radiofrequency energy, which can melt the surrounding fat cells and cauterize small blood vessels similar to SmartLipo. The surrounding soft tissues will also respond to the generated heat by contracting. The soft tissues may continue to contract over 12 months, greatly improving the targeted area’s contour and overall appearance.
Are non-surgical alternatives as effective?
Cryolipolysis is a non-invasive cosmetic procedure that freezes fat cells underneath the deep layers of skin. The frozen fat cells eventually melt and are absorbed by the surrounding tissues, which then process them as liquid waste.
Since the procedure is non-invasive, there is virtually no downtime and has no risks for infection. However, this type of procedure may take months for the full effects to become apparent. Multiple treatments may even be needed, depending on where and how large the target area is.
Though the surrounding tissues remain unaffected in cryolipolysis, this also means that there is no added benefit of skin contraction. Loose, sagging skin may become a problem after several treatments.
SmartLipo or other traditional liposuction methods may be invasive and need a longer recovery period, however, they are far more effective and result in much more drastic body fat loss than non-invasive methods.
How much does liposuction cost?
The cost of body contouring in Toronto may start at $4,000 for smaller areas. Larger areas or multiple coverages may cost more than $10,000. Many clinics offer packages with reduced rates that may be much cheaper compared to getting separate areas done. If you decide to go for combination procedures, some clinics may also give you discounted prices.
