Lidlift Kenneth D. Steinsapir, M.D.
Cosmetic, Facial & Eye Plastic Surgery

Tumescent Liposuction

This is liposuction performed with the patient awake under local anesthesia and using small cannulas. Liposuction is effective for sculpting areas of body fat that are resistant to diet and exercise. Typically for women this is the abdomen and flanks, inner thighs, outer thighs, and the arms. For men the typical areas are the abdomen, flanks, and breasts. Liposuction is a sculpting method and not appropriate for weight reduction. Provided the weight is relatively stable, the contour improvement will be permanent. It is important to be realistic about what can be accomplished with liposuction. Generally, people are quite pleased with their improved body contour. Liposuction is not able fix cellulite, the dimples that develop in the skin of the thighs. Tumescent liposuction under local anesthesia with small cannulas is incredibly safe compared to other liposuction methods. Recent studies of large numbers of patients undergoing tumescent liposuction have revealed no deaths with this method. Also because large volumes of dilute local anesthesia is used, the area undergoing liposuction stays numb for about 18 hours making the procedure remarkably comfortable. Narcotics are almost unnecessary. Generally, down time is minimal with most individuals returning to work in 2 days. Compression garments are usually worn for just 5 days.