Liposuction Denver

Liposuction Surgery, Denver Liposuction Surgeon

Perhaps more than any other cosmetic operation, liposuction is truly a form of creating a living sculpture.

LIPOSUCTION & THE SCIENCE OF FAT METBOLISM (Please see the following chapter from the eMedicine medical text book authored by Dr. Grossman) http://www.emedicine.com/plastic/TOPIC21.HTM Very simply, liposuction is a technique where zones of fat concentration are reduced and shaped.  In a sterile operating room, hollow metal tubes of varying diameters, called “cannulas” (most of them varying from the size of spaghetti to the size of a pencil), are attached to a suction device and then are moved repetitively in-and-out of areas of fat accumulation. In this manner, cores of fat are removed and with this, the size and shape of the fat collection changes until the desired shape is achieved. Liposuction is not intended to be a weight loss technique; it doesn’t replace dietary restraint and regular exercise. But obviously when fat is removed there will be some loss of weight. One cubic centimeter (c.c.) of fat weighs approximately 1 gram (gm.); about 453 grams is equal to 1 pound.

However, our goal in liposuction is not the volume of fat removed but the new shape and contour achieved. Weight loss is just a byproduct. Often just a small amount of fat removal makes a sizable change in the appearance of the area. These changes are basically permanent, particularly as long as the patient maintains their post-liposuction weight. While weight gain usually won’t cause the liposuctioned area to expand, it will affect other untreated areas. That is to say, you may find that body areas that previously weren’t “fat” change and become so. To understand this, you need to understand a bit about fat metabolism.

We are born with essentially a fixed number of fat cells. When we gain weight, individual fat cells increase in size and when we lose weight individual cells shrink. We do not make new or destroy old fat cells. In the same way, the pattern in which we gain or lose weight has been pre-determined by our genes. What this means is that when a person gains 5 pounds, for example, a tiny bit of that 5 pounds is not distributed to every fat cell in the body. Instead, in accordance with our individual genetic pattern, certain cells increase in size while others stay unchanged. Most people can, tell you where they gain weight first and the next couple of areas after that. And losing weight is in a similar pattern. Therefore, when liposuction is performed for the problem areas of fat deposit, generally if weight is maintained, that sculpting should be permanent. If however, following liposuction one gains weight, the area that expands may be an unexpected one. You may have your saddlebags reshaped, gain weight and find that your knees or ankles become larger – a very unpleasant turn of events!

In Brief:  The basic scientific concepts of fat metabolism that make liposuction successful surgeries are:

• We are essentially born with a "fixed" number of fat cells and don't make new fat cells over the course of our lives.
  
  
• When we gain weight cells increase in size and when we lose weight they shrink.
  
  
• The pattern in which fat cells expand and shrink is unique in each of us; in simple terms, while some people put on weight in their buttocks, others put it on in the hips or abdomen.
  
  
• If collections of fat cells that make a particular area of the body unattractive are reduced and reshaped, that new shape is basically permanent.
  
  
• Removed fat doesn't "grow back". But this doesn't prevent post-liposuction patients from gaining weight. Fatty deposits can begin to expand in other areas of the body. Patients wishing to get and maintain the best results from liposuction continue to sustain a healthy lifestyle including dietary discretion and regular exercise.