Who is a good candidate for a liposuction? People that have located grease in excess or for those that desire to mold the figure in specific places such as: abdomen and waist; cheeks and double chin; thorax and mammary region; back; maxillary region; hips, external and internal thighs; legs, internal face of knee and arms; calf and ankles.  It can be completed in several zones of the body at the same time and jointly with another esthetic plastic surgery.  Liposuction should not be considered as a replacement for the total loss of weight, neither is an effective treatment for cellulitis.  Best candidates are people of relatively normal weight, but with excess of located grease.

What does the consultation consist of? In the first consultation, Doctor Andrés Mejía evaluates the general state of health and determines if the patient is suitable or not to complete the procedure.  All doubts are clarified, the expectations are defined; the procedure and type of anesthesia is explained same as the institution where the intervention will be carried out. Depending on the elasticity of the skin, the weight and the patient health condition, it is estimated the amount of grease that will be subtracted.  This latte issue if the patient plans to lose or to gain weight in the future. 

How is the procedure carried out? The liposuction is an ambulatory plastic surgery that depending on the volume of grease to extract and the zones to intervene has duration from one to three hours. It is carried out with a suction cannula (hollow and small pipe) that extracts the grease.  This one is introduced through one or more small incisions near the area to treat.  Incisions are generally less than 5 millimeters and are located as discreetly as possible, often inside duplicities of the skin or contour lines. 

Depending on the zones to operate the type of anesthesia will be chosen as follow: 

1.  Local plus sedation: the patient will be awake during the intervention. 
2.  Regional or epidural: similar to that one used during labors or cesarean.
3.  General: this type of anesthesia is the best choice to be used when the area to receive a liposuction is very large, or another intervention is going to be completed at the same time.

After the surgery the patient should have a compressional elastic article of clothing (girdle) that will help in the readjustment of the skin and the operated tissues. This article is used during two months. The liposuction is a save intervention, provided that the patient be correctly selected, the clinic be properly equipped and the surgeon and his team be properly coached. 

How is post surgery? After the surgery the sensation is alike to that one felt the following day when a lot exercise was done.  The pain is presented when touch the operated zones and is mitigated with common analgesic.  Bruises disappear usually from 7 to 15 days later and the scar formation is a gradual and slow process that varies in people. 

Al following day of the surgery the patient should moved him/her self around the room to promote the circulation of the blood.  The Lycra will be removed temporarily at the second day of the intervention so Doctor Mejía could examine treated areas. At the beginning, inflammation and bruises will be noted that will disappear with the time.  There can be stiffness in some areas and to delay some weeks before the sensibility return.  The stitches withdraw 4 to 5 days after the surgery then the patient could return to the daily issues.  Although a normal life can be done after the procedure and the patient could return to work between the 5 or 8 following days, intense physical exercises should not be carried out until 3 or 4 weeks had being due. 

Which are the liposuction risks? Significant liposuction complications are little frequent.  As in every surgery, esthetics or not, there are general risks such as infection, prolonged inflammation, allergy to utilized anesthetics and reactions to the drug in use. Doctor Mejía counts on a multidisciplinary team of professional experts and the appropriate installations making those risks minimum. 

How the patient should be prepared for the surgery? It is recommended that the patient should be accompanied to the procedure and days before not to consume cigarette, aspirins or any type of anti-inflammatory. 

Which will be the results? Those undesirable areas with excess of grease will be reduced and even will disappear.  By effects of the inflammation and the liquids retention the thinnest aspect of the corporal contour can be delayed, the results will not be seen before 2 months.  The liposuction true result should not be measured in the scale but in the measures that are reduced.  Depending on the case, measures are diminished, from 1 to 2 sizes in clothes, or more in special cases.  Liposuction results will be permanent, while the person maintains his/her post surgery weight, even if he/she gain some additional kilograms could be able to appreciate that the weight is distributed in a uniform way.