Do you need a little extra help getting rid of stubborn body fat, but don’t want to deal with surgical scarring and recovery? Then it’s time to introduce yourself to our Body Sculpt procedure at South Coast Plastic Surgery in Irvine, CA. Body Sculpt is a revolutionary form of liposculpture!
Microcannula Liposuction is a form of liposuction, which is performed using a tiny cannula that has a diameter of 0.9 mm to 2.5 mm. It is a minimally invasive form of liposuction that removes fat and sculpts your body.
The procedure aims to redefine your body’s contour and physique and was invented by Dr. Jeffrey Klein, a practicing cosmetic surgeon in California, in the 1980s, who wanted to achieve excellent cosmetic results with short post-procedure recovery time. It is a technique known and practiced by only a small percentage of physicians worldwide. Dr. Song has trained with Dr. Klein at his surgery center in California, specifically learning from the master himself and utilizes the same techniques, maintaining the highest standards for patient safety, satisfaction, and care.
All procedures are performed in the operating room to maintain sterility. The patient is awake as local anesthetic is placed in the area to be treated. This not only numbs the areas to be treated but also minimizes the post-operative bruising which is typically much more with traditional liposuction.
These much smaller cannulas involve more work from the physician but may result in a smoother, more natural result for the patient. In addition, there is less trauma to the areas using these smaller instruments.
Unique benefits performing microcannula liposuction under local anesthesia include:
The patient is awake in the operating room as the local anesthetic is started. Often, a small dose of a minor sedative will be provided to the patient, otherwise, we often engage in communication as we seek to provide the patient the best results. The patient may bring their own music, earphones or listen to anything on our audio system.
This process significantly reduces the amount of medication that the patient takes during the procedure. A local anesthetic goes into the fat that is getting removed, which eliminates the need for general anesthesia, intravenous sedatives, and most other pharmaceuticals. Recovering from a general anesthetic usually means a period of being groggy as the anesthesia medications take time to wear off.
This technique also helps to prevent bleeding. Epinephrine in the anesthetic solution causes the blood vessels to shrink to a tiny fraction of their normal size. This results in much less bleeding than with traditional liposuction.
As there are no incisions nor suturing (stitches), there is a lesser chance for scarring. Tiny 1.5-2.0 mm adits or punch biopsy holes are instead placed, which will heal spontaneously without the need for sutures.
As these much smaller cannulas are used to contour the treated areas, there is less risk of waviness or irregular contouring.
Leaving the adits to heal naturally ensures that any residual blood or anesthetic can drain from the wound over the course of a few days. That drainage helps to prevent bruising, and the small size of the wounds makes sure that they can heal quickly. Most patients will take one or two days off work.
A local anesthetic is placed in the area to be treated, which makes the area numb, and also expands the fat cells for easier removal. It also minimizes post-operative bruising which is typically much more severe with traditional liposuction. Typically, there are no incisions and no stitches, so less chance of scarring. And recovery is faster.
Dr. Mark Song has trained with Dr. Klein at his surgicenter in California, specifically learning from the master himself and utilizes the same techniques, maintaining the highest standards for patient safety, satisfaction, and care.
Unwanted fat can be removed from the following areas:
Thanks to this innovative liposuction method, initial results can be seen within a few days. The results will continue to get better up to six months after the surgery as the skin retracts and your new shape takes final form. Results include a slimmer profile, with a more contoured treatment area and minimal (if any) surgical scarring.
As there’s no general anesthesia involved in the procedure, you’ll feel alert and back to yourself within the first 48 hours after surgery. Most patients take about one to two days off from work. You will need to wear a compression garment around the treatment site to help reduce swelling and to help achieve your final contour.
Tumescent liposuction is a technique that involves local anesthesia, a combination of saline, epinephrine, sodium bicarbonate and lidocaine, to be infused into the fat beneath your skin. General anesthesia is not required, recovery time is reduced, bruising is reduced, and your risk of bleeding is also significantly reduced.
An ideal candidate is someone who is at or near his/her ideal body weight, has not seen a significant change in body weight for the previous six months, and is otherwise healthy. During the initial consultation, we will discuss your medical history in detail. Particularly important is your realistic expectation and satisfaction with at least a 50% improvement.
We will provide pre-operative instructions for our patients during their consultation. Blood work is required to ensure the safety of the patient. Patients are instructed to refrain from certain medications and herbal products. We prescribe antibiotics and a mild sedative before your procedure.
At the beginning of your procedure, the treatment area is anesthetized with a very thin cannula. We will allow the anesthetic solution to work for about 45 minutes before we start the actual liposuction. There is no need for incisions as with traditional liposuction. Next, liposuction is performed using these microcannulas (about 2 millimeters wide) for better accuracy of fat removal and avoidance of irregularities. There are no sutures as well due to the very small 1.5-2.0 mm adits (punch biopsy holes) placed.
Following the procedure, you are likely to get some bruising. However, this is minimized as there are no stitches to prevent any drainage, and in fact, the small adits will encourage rapid drainage and healing. We have not had to prescribe any narcotic for pain control. Tylenol has been sufficient for all of our patients. You will need to change the dressings once or twice over the next day or two. You will also need to wear a compression garment that will be provided to you for the following two-four weeks. After the first week, this garment should be worn during the day.
This is an extremely individual matter, one that can’t be assessed without seeing the patient. It’s not so much about the amount of fat itself because different amounts of fat can be removed in order to achieve an aesthetically pleasing shape. Dr. Song will assess your body and discuss realistic expectations about how to best achieve your desired goals.
This is probably the most common complaint. Despite good nutrition and exercise, there often is one or more problem areas. Most of us can agree with that! The good news is that Microcannula Liposuction is exactly the procedure that may make the difference you hope for!
The results can be very dramatic and you will see a clear difference within the first week after the procedure. Wearing the garment helps with skin tightening and retraction. Your first recheck will be the first week and we would like to see you at month one and at month six.
Yes, with tumescent liposuction, your results are permanent. Once the fat cells are gone, they are gone for good. It is important to institute a healthy lifestyle with exercise and diet to avoid existing fat cells from getting large and to avoid and reoccurrence.
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