How Liposuction Is Performed

Liposuction surgery can take anywhere from an hour to a few hours to perform, depending upon the amount of areas you will have treated.  Before your surgery you will probably have markings drawn on you while standing so that your surgeon will know better what to remove while you are lying down.  Although some surgeons perform procedures where you are awake and you can finish the liposuction while standing.

If you are undergoing anesthesia you will have an IV inserted for saline and medications.  You will be given a mild sedative injection and you will begin to feel very relaxed, you may even fall asleep.  If you are not going to receive a mild sedative beforehand and you are lying on the table, you will be given a stronger sedative to put you to sleep for your procedure.  If you are having General anesthesia, you will then be intubated, or you may have intravenous sedation medications.  Your anesthesiologist may have you count until you fall asleep. 

Once you have been sufficiently anesthetized, the surgical team will begin prepping your body for surgery by scrubbing you with Betadine to kill and surface bacteria, monitor your heart rate and breathing, and generally be sure you are sedated and stable before any injections or incisions are made.  You may either have incisions made first and infused with a tumescent fluid with a cannula, or if a smaller area is being treated, you may simply just receive a few injections.

The below photos are of my surgery, performed by John A. Rusca, M.D.

Marking for surgery	Receiving a sedative to relax	liposuction / fat grafting tools
infusion with tumescent fluid	liposuction of abdomen	liposuction of abdomen
liposuction of outer thigh	liposuction of outer thigh	liposuction of inner thigh
liposuction of inner thigh	liposuction of outer thigh	aspirate and treated fat for grafting

Liposuction Videos

Your surgeon will wait about 15 minutes for the tumescent fluid medications to take effect and your surgeon will begin performing whichever method you and your surgeon have chosen together.

Once your procedure has been completed, you will then be cleaned up and awakened.  You won't remember much until you are in the recovery area.

Your may notice discomfort after you awake from your procedure.  The first sensation you will usually feel is confusion and stiffness.  You will be very sleepy and probably fade in and out of consciousness. You may or may not have nausea, hopefully you do not.  If you are feeling nauseated, you should alert the recovery staff before you actually get sick.  This will be better for you in the long run and the staff can administer medications which should help alleviate any sickness.  Vomiting can be painful and obviously unpleasant. 

If you have had your abdomen liposuctioned you may notice a sensation that feels as though you are unable to take a deep enough breath. This is usually from the lidocaine injections and nothing to be afraid of, you are breathing, you just may not be able to feel the sensation.  You will have (or should have) an oximeter attached to your finger that will alert the recovery staff to any hemoglobin oxygen saturation problems.