Liposuction Cosmetic Surgery Toronto

What is Liposuction

Liposuction is surgery in which a thin tube is selectively placed by the surgeon in areas of excess fat while suction is applied, resulting in the removal of fat cells and a permanent improvement in your body shape. It is not a weight-control technique, but rather a tool for controlling where you will store excess fat.

Who is a good candidate?

Patients (and some surgeons) often believe that you must be at an ideal body weight to be a candidate for liposuction, but this is not the case. We have obtained beautiful results in over-weight patients- the key is that we target localized areas of excess fat, and this is true no matter what your weight may be. We also recommend this surgery be performed once a stable weight is established. We offer high-volume (> 5 litre) liposuction to carefully selected patients, and this surgery is performed in hospital. We have achieved astonishing results even in patients with less than ideal skin tone, such as those over 60 years old, or after major weight-loss.

At your Consultation

It is very important that you be at a comfortable, stable weight before undertaking liposuction. We have patients who have struggled to lose that last 10 pounds, and then use liposuction to get rid of one or two problem areas. Surgery is a success, but then the patient loses the motivation for diet and exercise and the 10 lbs goes back on, resulting in unsightly bulges of fat in new areas. This illustrates why we do not recommend you strive for some ideal body weight before surgery. We may recommend dividing your surgery into two operations to maintain safety. Please resist the temptation to seek out a surgeon who will do it all in one operation. Your safety should be everyone’s first priority.

Alternatives to Liposuction

‘Lifts and Tucks’ may be recommended if you are likely to have too much skin laxity after liposuction. Our consultation will feature a discussion of this issue. Energy-based techniques in which a laser or ultrasound is applied to kill fat cells before/during liposuction (e.g. Smartlipo) all suffer from the problem that it is impossible to accurately judge how much fat has been killed, and so there is less cosmetic precision than when fat cells are simply suctioned away in traditional liposuction. Many patients come to our practice with ugly dents arising from these energy-based techniques, and require fat grafting for correction. External devices (e.g. cryolipolysis) have been successfully used to reduce small pockets of fat. Studies have estimated up to 40 grams of fat are reduced per session. This is about 1/10th the reduction we would typically achieve with liposuction, and still the problem exists that the amount of fat cell injury can only be estimated, unlike liposuction in which the amount of reduction is immediately visible.

Costs

Fees for liposuction at our Toronto Cosmetic Plastic Surgery office (including facility and anesthetist) range from $3,000 to $6,000, depending on the area treated and extent of surgery that is necessary. Savings are available when a second or third area is treated.

Preparation for surgery

We need you to be healthy and at a stable weight before surgery. We provide written instructions on preparation, and will review these with you well before surgery. We provide a compression garment (similar to a girdle) for your use after surgery.

Safety and Risks

In the short term, risks are those typical of surgery, and generally proportional to the number of areas treated at one time. Long term, some patients put on weight after liposuction because they no longer have their hated ‘muffin top’ or ‘thunder thighs’, and become less careful with diet and exercise.

Recovery process

Liposuction allows for an almost immediate return to most daily activities, and exercise programs can resume within two weeks. A compression garment (like a girdle) is often recommended to provide comfort and possibly a shaping-effect during the healing process. Early results are evident within three weeks (sometimes sooner, depending on swelling), and can be dramatic or subtle, depending on the extent of treatment.

Results

You can expect to see positive effects from your surgery within three weeks, but a final result may not be evident until a year or more after surgery. This time is necessary for swelling to resolve and for tissue tightening to be complete. Approximately one in twenty patients in our practice will benefit from further (revision) liposuction to achieve the best possible results- no surgeon fee is charged for this service.

Bottom Line

We believe that our practice offers the best liposuction surgery results in Toronto. Come in for a consultation, and you will leave wiser, and perhaps scheduled for a beautiful transformation.