Liposuction

Frequently Asked Questions

• What About Exercise for Fat Reduction?

  Exercise is good for the mind and body in general, and toning the muscles can help fill out loose skin in the vicinity. By suppressing the appetite, and by slightly increasing the metabolism, exercise can assist weight loss. But unfortunately, there is no such thing as a “spot” exercise to make the body lose weight in a certain area. Troublesome areas—typically the chin, abdomen, hips, or thighs—have an inherited tendency to accumulate fat. This is known as “stubborn” or “diet-resistant” fat.

  There is so far no way with exercise or pills to force the body to selectively lose fat in a specific area alone. Liposuction, however, is ideal for accomplishing that. For many of Dr. Alain Polynice’s patients, their more positive post-procedural self image creates a higher sense of self esteem.

• Why Choose the Williams Center for Liposuction in Albany, NY?

  Dr. Alain Polynice offers liposuction for many different parts of the body, including the abdomen, breasts, hips, thighs, buttocks, arms, knees, and calves. In the hands of a board-certified plastic surgeon such as Dr. Alain Polynice, liposuction can be one of the safest procedures performed. Should you be interested in fat reduction of the neck, jowls, cheeks, or other areas of the face, you should speak with board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Edwin Williams.

  Both doctors have years of education and experience with helping patients achieve natural-looking contours via liposuction and other procedures and treatments. They will work with each patient to develop a plan that capitalizes on the numerous services available at the Williams Center, as well as on their particular skill sets and eye for aesthetics.

• What Happens During a Liposuction Consultation?

  At the time of your initial office visit, we will perform a careful physical examination to identify problem areas that can be treated effectively with liposuction. Your questions can be answered at that time, and we will discuss with you what your goals are and whether liposuction represents your best option for achieving them. This is also a good time to review expectations and emphasize that this procedure is intended for women and men who are already near their ideal body weight; it is not a weight-loss solution and is not effective when there are significant amounts of excess skin or stretch marks.

  In some cases, Dr. Polynice may recommend a tummy tuck, designed to address loose skin, as well as the lax abdominal muscles that can leave a belly looking flabby. Liposuction is often a component of tummy tuck, removing small amounts of fat to better help the abdominal skin sit as flat as possible once it has been pulled tight.

• Does Liposuction Leave Scars?

  Liposuction is performed via small incisions that are placed carefully so that the resulting scars are as inconspicuous as possible. Depending upon the area being treated, most scars can be hidden in the natural folds of your body. For example, incisions are placed behind your knees for liposuction of calves, in your belly button for the lower abdomen.

• What Are the Liposuction Details?

  After the administration of an anesthetic to dull sensation in the area, Dr. Alain Polynice will make the necessary incisions in the targeted area. He will then insert a cannula, using it to loosen the fat cells from any connective or other tissue. The more liquefied fat can then be suctioned out.

  When the necessary amount of fat cells have been removed, Dr. Alain Polynice will carefully close the incision, repeating these steps—incision, insertion, loosening, suction, and closure—on other areas if required. Some patients who want to slim down multiple areas choose to have all of the work done at once, keeping themselves from multiple surgeries with multiple recuperation windows. This can be discussed during your consultation if that is a possibility for you.

• What Should I Expect After Liposuction?

  Dr. Alain Polynice performs liposuction as an outpatient procedure at the New England Laser and Cosmetic Surgery Center, which means you can go home after surgery. Dr. Alain Polynice does require that a competent adult spend the first day with you after your liposuction procedure.

  In the following days, you should expect pain, swelling, and bruising in the areas that were treated. Pain medications are generally needed for a few days, and then most patients rapidly become more comfortable, though every patient’s healing schedule is unique. Dr. Alain Polynice recommends that his patients wear a support garment for six to eight weeks after the procedure. Once the swelling has resolved, you will be able to better see the effect of your surgery.

  Complications of liposuction are rare. There will be bruising and swelling in the treated areas, but this is to be expected. If all areas are not treated evenly, there can be some irregularities following liposuction; this is very unusual due to the care Dr. Alain Polynice takes to perform the lipo-sculpture symmetrically.

  The fat removed by liposuction cannot come back unless you gain weight again, in which case the weight gain will likely be distributed across all of your body areas*. However, after liposuction, the treated areas have been shown to have a decreased capacity for additional fat, because so many of the fat cells have simply been removed. Remember that there are still fat cells present, so some increase in a treated area is to be expected with weight gain. For that reason, someone gaining weight after liposuction is more likely to notice the increased fat being deposited in areas that did not get liposuctioned. Some people incorrectly believe that after liposuction, “some other area will just get fat”—that’s if you gain weight, leading to an increase, not due to a spontaneous appearance of fat.

• Who is the Ideal Patient for Weekend Liposuction?

  The ideal patient for this procedure is someone who has a target area that does not respond to diet or exercise. The ideal patient will also have minimal stretch marks in the area so that when the sculpting is performed, the skin can re-drape and conform to the newly sculpted area. After this procedure, you should expect to have a moderate amount of bruising that typically resolves after one week and swelling that usually lasts about six to eight weeks. Complications are very unusual since, again, this is done through very small incisions that are closed with internal sutures and usually heal very nicely and are not noticeable by three months post-op.

  As always, liposuction is a very safe and excellent tool to treat specific areas in the body where fatty deposits do not respond to diet and exercise. The Weekend Liposuction procedure adds the benefit of a very quick and painless recovery and allows patients to return to their normal activities much faster.

• What Areas Can Be Reduced With Weekend Liposuction?

  Because Weekend Liposuction is intended for precision contouring, it is not used on general regions, but on specific areas of the body and face. This allows for significant customization.

  For the body, Weekend Liposuction options from Dr. Alain Polynice include the lower abdomen and inner thighs. He can target saddlebags that start on the hips, and love handles on the flanks.

  Dr. Edwin Williams performs Weekend Liposuction on the neck. For some patients, he pairs neck lipo with implants for chin augmentation, which provides more definition overall for the lowest third of the face.

• Is There More That Can Be Considered a Weekend Procedure?

  Dr. Edwin Williams offers a Weekend Neck/Facelift, which addresses signs of aging on the lower third of the face, including a turkey neck, double chin, marionette lines, and more. Liposuction can be a part of this procedure, specifically to remove unwanted fat cells below the chin. It can also involve muscle tightening and the excision of sagging skin.

• Is There a Nonsurgical Alternative to Liposuction?

  For patients not yet ready for surgery, the Williams Center offers Kybella®, an injectable that disrupts the fat cells that make up a double chin. No incisions are required for this treatment limited to the submental area.

  LipoDissolve® works on a similar premise, but the use of this injectable has raised many questions about its safety and efficacy, which has prompted the Williams Center to wait and watch as studies are carried out.

  CoolSculpting® lowers the temperature of fat cells until they are damaged, leading to their natural removal from the body. Results from this treatment are gradual, but require no incisions or sutures.

• What is liposuction?

  Liposuction, also referred to as body contouring, is a surgical procedure which is able to remove fat from specific problem areas using small tubes or cannulas connected to a vacuum aspiration device. Commonly treated areas include areas of the face like the chin, neck, jowls and cheeks, as well as areas of the body like the abdomen, hips, thighs, buttocks, arms, knees and calves. There are a variety of different techniques that may be used for liposuction, including ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) and the tumescent technique.

• Who is the best candidate for liposuction?

  Candidates for liposuction should be physically healthy and realistic in their expectations. Because liposuction is not intended for the purposes of weight loss, the best candidates are patients who, though of normal body weight, are bothered by troublesome areas that do not respond to diet and exercise.

• What is tumescent liposuction?

  Tumescent liposuction is a fairly new liposuction technique in which the treated areas are first injected with large volumes of a fluid solution containing lidocaine which causes the fatty tissues to become swollen and firm, or ‘tumesced’. Traditional liposuction techniques are then used to suction out the fat. Tumescent liposuction can take as long as four to five hours to complete and is often performed with just local anesthesia.

• What can I expect during a consultation for liposuction?

  During a consultation, the surgeon will perform a careful physical examination to identify the problem areas that are suitable for treatment with liposuction. The surgeon should take a thorough medical history, discuss your goals, answer any questions you may have, and discuss all aspects of the surgery including the technique, the anesthesia, the facility, the cost and the risks.

• Where is liposuction performed?

  Liposuction is typically performed as an out patient procedure in either a surgeon’s office-based facility or an outpatient surgical center. Some cases may be performed in a hospital.

• What sort of anesthesia is used during liposuction?

  Liposuction may be performed with a variety of anesthesias, including local anesthesia, general anesthesia or an epidural.

• Where are the incisions made for liposuction?

  The location of the incisions will depend on the area being treated, though they are small incisions that are placed carefully so that the resulting scars are imperceptible.

• How is the actual liposuction procedure performed?

  Small incisions are made in the skin and then a narrow tube know as a cannula is inserted through the incisions into the fat layer deep beneath the skin. The cannula is manipulated, disrupting the fat cells, and then the fat is suctioned out using a vacuum pump or a large syringe.

• Does liposuction result in scars?

  The incisions made for liposuction will result in scars though they tend to be small and strategically placed. Liposuction of the lower abdomen might involve an incision in the belly button, while liposuction of the calves might involve an incision behind the knee.

• How much pain is there with liposuction?

  Patients can expect to experience some pain or discomfort after liposuction, though this can be controlled with prescription pain medication.

• Will I be able to drive myself home after my liposuction procedure?

  Patients should arrange to have someone drive them home after the procedure.

• Is it necessary for someone to stay with me and help me out at home after my liposuction procedure?

  Patients should have a competent adult stay with them for the first day after liposuction.

• What is the recovery like after liposuction?

  Patients can expect to experience some pain, swelling and bruising after liposuction. Pain can be controlled with prescription pain medication. Patients are advised to wear a special support garment for about six to eight weeks.

• Will I need to take much time off from work after liposuction?

  Patients are usually able to return to work within one to two weeks.

• How soon after liposuction can I exercise?

  Exercise and other strenuous activities should be postponed for two to four weeks.

• Are there any risks associated with liposuction?

  As with all types of surgery there are potential risks associated with liposuction and these may include the following: adverse anesthesia reactions, asymmetry, bagginess or rippling of the skin, fluid retention or fluid loss, infection, pigmentation changes, and skin injury.

• Is liposuction every covered by insurance?

  Liposuction is typically not covered by insurance as it is considered a cosmetic procedure, though some degree of coverage may be available when used for breast reduction.

• Are the results of liposuction permanent?

  The results of liposuction can be long lasting or permanent with sensible diet and exercise. Patients who gain a significant amount of weight after liposuction will accumulate fat.

• Is it possible to get financing for acosmetic procedure?

  Financing is available for many plastic surgery procedures.