If you’re overweight, diet and exercise may help you lose weight. But sometimes, these weight-loss methods can’t get rid of stubborn fat deposits from certain areas of your body. In such cases, liposuction can be an effective way to lose that fat.
What Is Liposuction?
Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery that removes excess fat from specific body parts like the belly, hips, thighs, arms, or buttocks. It helps reshape or contour these parts of the body.
The procedure is minimally invasive and involves a suction technique. A suction device is inserted into the body to remove unwanted fat from between the skin and muscles. Liposuction results in permanent fat loss from the treated area. However, you need to maintain your body weight through diet and exercise for permanent results.
Here’s all you need to know about who liposuction is for, its benefits, associated costs, and more.
Who Is Liposuction for?
You may require liposuction if there’s too much fat in specific areas of your body even though you maintain a stable body weight.
Liposuction is often done on the following body parts to get rid of fat that doesn’t respond to diet or exercise:
- Belly
- Hips
- Thighs
- Buttocks
- Calves
- Ankles
- Chest or breasts
- Back
- Upper arms
- Chin
- Neck
If you wish to undergo liposuction, you must maintain good health. Conditions such as weakened immunity, diabetes, or heart problems can lead to complications during surgery.
Benefits of Liposuction
Weight gain increases the number and size of fat cells in your body. Liposuction helps reduce the number of fat cells in a particular body part. This improves the shape or contour of the area, making it appear sculpted. This change remains permanent as long as you maintain a stable weight.
Liposuction benefits the patient because it:
- Removes fat safely and effectively
- Reduces cellulite
- Improves health due to fat loss
- Improves confidence and self-esteem
- Sculpts body parts that don’t respond to diet or exercise
How Much Does Liposuction Cost?
The cost of liposuction is an important factor when considering the procedure. However, don’t compromise on the quality of the procedure to save money.
Low liposuction costs may imply that the surgeon is inexperienced or that the quality of the procedure is poor. This attempt at cost reduction can result in an incomplete procedure, excessive fat removal, irregular shaping of the treated area, and even scarring. It is better to be treated by an experienced surgeon who charges more money for a top-quality operation.
So, how much is liposuction, and what factors affect its cost?
Factors affecting liposuction cost
The following factors determine the cost of liposuction:
- Surgeon’s experience
- Surgeon’s geographical location
- Areas of the body that require treatment
- Time and effort put in by the surgeon
- Hospital, operating room, and lab testing fees
- Cost of specialty services like anesthesia
- Cost of supplies like medicines and post-surgery compression garments or pads
Considering all these factors, liposuction costs average at approximately $2000 to $5000. Based on a 2020 report1 from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, without nonsurgical fees, the cost of the average liposuction procedure amounts to $3,637.
However, the total liposuction cost generally includes nonsurgical plus surgical fees and takes the area treated into account. Suppose you get liposuction in the hips, thighs, and buttocks. With surgical fees for each body part — for example, the hips ($2500) + thighs ($3000) + buttocks ($2000) — and nonsurgical fees ($1500), the total cost will be approximately $9000.
Payment options
For cosmetic surgeries like liposuction, there are several financing options and loans2 available through private finance companies. You can also pay for liposuction surgery using your credit card. However, health insurance does not cover liposuction as it is a cosmetic procedure. You may want to check with the clinic or hospital for payment options before the procedure.
Risks Associated with Liposuction
As with any other surgical procedure, liposuction comes with risks. They include numbness, bleeding, or infection at the surgical site. Additional risks and complications include:
- Skin irregularities: After liposuction, your skin usually molds according to the new shape of the treated area. However, this depends on your skin tone and elasticity. The skin will appear smooth if you have good skin elasticity. But the treated area can appear loose or uneven due to poor skin elasticity.
Skin irregularities like bumps can also appear due to uneven fat removal or improper healing. If the skin beneath the treated area gets damaged during the procedure, it may appear spotted. These irregularities may remain permanent.
Also, liposuction doesn’t remove skin irregularities like cellulite dimples, bumps, or stretch marks.
- Fluid accumulation: Fluid can temporarily collect in pockets under the skin after the procedure. However, it can be drained using a needle.
- Damage to other organs: Sometimes, the suction device used for liposuction may get inserted deeply into the treated area. This can puncture or damage internal organs, which may require surgery.
- Blockage in blood vessels: Some fat cells may break away from the site during the procedure. If clumps enter a blood vessel, they lead to blockages. If a clump enters the lungs or travels to the brain, it can be a severe complication.
- Kidney, lung, or heart problems: The suction process can alter the body’s fluid levels. This can cause kidney, heart, and lung problems.
- Reaction to anesthesia: The anesthetic lidocaine is often injected during liposuction to manage pain. Although it is safe, lidocaine toxicity3 can occur in some rare cases. It can lead to serious problems of the heart and central nervous system.
The chances of these severe complications are rare. But they can increase if multiple body parts are involved in the procedure. To learn more, consult with your cosmetic surgeon.
Find Out More About Liposuction
If you want to find out more about liposuction and what the procedure entails, My Body Treatment is here to help with ample resources about plastic surgery, fat loss, and muscle toning. With the right information, you’ll know exactly what to expect before your procedure.
SOURCES:
- Plastic Surgery Statistics Report 2020: ” Average Surgeon/Physician Fees.”
- NerdWallet: Cosmetic Surgery Loans: ” Financing Plastic Surgery in 2022.”
- Oman Medical Journal: ” Cardiac Arrest Following Liposuction: A Case Report of Lidocaine Toxicity.”
