Lipo Results

Lipo is a controversial topic. It is commonly conceived as a quick solution to looking thinner and it is surrounded with myths and misconceptions. Lipo can bring a lot of joy to a person with realistic expectations, who is able to not gain too much weight after their Lipo and who maintains a healthy and active lifestyle. At the same time under the hands of an expert; Lipo can help people achieve a better body that otherwise they would not have been able to get with conventional methods such as diet and exercising. For people who achieve success, Lipo is a life changing experience.

On the other hand, for people with unrealistic expectations or who are not able to keep the weight off after their Lipo, this procedure might not be the best long term solution for them. Additionally; in the hands of someone who is neither skilled nor prepared, Lipo can become a nightmare for the person who receives it.

It seems like everywhere you turn, there's conflicting information about Lipo. Some people claim it's a magical cure all that can instantly fix anyone's appearance, giving them the body of a sexy, slim hollywood diva. Others claim that botched Lipo jobs are more common than true successes and that Lipos will lead to permanent disfigurement, scarring, rippling of the skin and even serious damage to nerves or vital organs. The purpose of this page is to separate fact from fiction and explain what Lipo is and isn't meant for, and what it can achieve.

What Results Can I Realistically Expect From My Lipo?

Lipo can remove roughly 10 pounds of fat per procedure, and each procedure targets one or a few body areas (examples of body areas include the abdomen, the flanks, or the thighs). This means that Lipo works best at removing specific bulges of fat from problem areas.

Because the risks associated with Lipo increase significantly if the Lipo surgeon tries to remove too much weight at one time, the procedure really isn't meant as a weight loss solution. Lipo works best for patients who are 10 pounds or less over their ideal weight. If you have lots of weight to lose, you're best off beginning an exercise regimen and eating healthily or having a medical procedure indented to help you lose weight. Once you have lost a significant amount of weight, then you will be able to see what problem areas are left.

Although ten pounds might not sound like a lot, for many people it is enough to make a significant difference in the way they look. Because the Lipo surgeon can choose exactly where to remove fat, they can often create the illusion that more was taken, or take it such a way that remaining fat enhances rather than detracts from the figure. This can be done so precisely that another term for Lipo is "body sculpting".

If You Are More Than 10 Pounds Overweight Before Lipo

If you are more than 10 pounds overweight your Lipo doctor may have to perform the procedure in several stages in order to avoid serious health complications and give the body time to heal properly. During the time between Lipo treatments your doctor may give you a diet and exercise plan in order to help you achieve a gradual lifestyle change that will bring you closer to your ideal weight. Please remember that every Lipo case is unique and only thru a Lipo consultation you will be able to know more about your personal case.

For example, Lipo may be ideal for a woman who is perhaps twenty pounds from her "ideal" weight-that is, the weight she tries to reach whenever she diets-and feels like her figure is dumpy and shapeless. By removing only ten pounds from her waist or thighs and leaving everything untouched around her breasts and buttocks, a skillful Lipo surgeon may be able to give her a more curvaceous and glamorous body than she could have achieved with diet alone, which would have removed fat more evenly.

Other Uses Of Lipo

Some surgeons, using cutting-edge techniques for Lipo, are even achieving success implanting fat suctioned from one area of the body into another. Women who go in for these procedures can at once remove fat from one area, such as the abdomen or thighs, and enhance their breasts or buttocks with their own fat rather than implants, which has a more natural feel and less chance of complications down the road.

Lipo and Cellulite

Lipo also cannot fix cellulite completely. The final appearance of cellulite on the body after Lipo is highly related to the technique used. Some Lipo techniques can help smooth the skin and reduce considerably the appearance of cellulite, while others don't. In fact, for some people, Lipo can actually make cellulite worse. The removal of additional fat from areas where cellulite is visible tends to exaggerate and exascerbate the wavy or dimpled appearance of the skin. Recently, the inventors of certain forms of laser Lipo have claimed that their surgical lasers stimulate collagen growth and can help assist in the treatment of cellulite. Individual results can vary greatly from patient to patient after Lipo and initial studies seem to suggest that this is the case, however, things are not certain.

Lipo and Scarring

Lipo does carry the risk of scarring. During Lipo, incisions are made so that hollow tubes called cannulas can be inserted into the body to suction out fat. These incisions can lead to scars. However, these incisions are typically very small, and thus they lead to small scars. In some Lipo surgeries, the scars are virtually invisible. In others, they can be up to a quarter of an inch long. The incision length is highly related to the Lipo technique used as well as the Lipo surgeon's ability.

Another determining factor in scarring is the person's skin ability to heal. For some people the incision marks may even go away completely after a few months. For others it might take longer to go away or in some cases they may become smoother and not so noticeable but may not go away. Keep in mind that Lipo incisions are meant to be small and located in places where they are not so noticeable and that your Lipo doctor may recommend additional medications or treatments to address this problem after Lipo.

Other Considerations About Lipo

Lipo can cause other forms of physical blemishes and problems. The trauma associated with Lipo typically causes bruising and swelling, but these usually disappear within weeks or months. However, there is the potential for more lasting blemishes, such as pigmentation of the skin, the creation of waves or ripples in the skin or uneven fat distribution. Some methods of Lipo can cause burns or nerve damage.

Lipo works better if you have healthy and elastic skin. If your skin is unhealthy or loose, then the removal of fat can exacerbate problems of excess skin. However, if you have relatively elastic skin, your skin should be able to adapt and tighten to fit your new figure.

Most of the problems associated with Lipo can be either fixed or minimized if the patient is healthy and if a suitably experienced and skilled Lipo surgeon performs the operation. However, as with all surgeries, there are risks. Whether or not you choose to get Lipo is a choice that is entirely up to you.

When Will I Be Able to See the Results of My Lipo?

How long it takes for you to see all the results from your Lipo will depend some on how your body reacts to the surgery. During your Lipo surgery, fat will be removed from your target area or target areas through special hollow tubes called cannulas. Your Lipo surgeon will move a cannula that is attached to a vacuum device back and forth through the fatty tissue of your target area to break up and suction out the excess fat.

This process, while less traumatic than a number of other cosmetic procedures, nonetheless causes some amount of tissue damage. In response to this, the area will swell. Additionally, many types of Lipo involve the introduction of large amounts of fluids into the target area. These extra fluids make the fat removal process easier, but they also lead to additional swelling.

Because of this swelling, it is possible that when you arrive home you won't be able to tell that you had any fat removed at all! You may also experience some amount of bruising, and you will be draining excess fluids from your incision. But don't lose hope--your results should soon begin to become much more apparent.

The draining should finish within a few days to a week, which will bring the amount of swelling down. The bruising and swelling will continue to go down over the next weeks and months. When it goes away entirely will depend on the invasiveness of your Lipo surgery and on the health of your body.

But even after the swelling has entirely gone away, you may still not have reached the point of ideal results. The removal of fat may have left you with some loose or excess skin.

As your body recovers from Lipo surgery, your skin will begin to tighten again, depending on your skin health and elasticity. This tightening will probably reach the optimal point somewhere around 6 months from the Lipo surgery.

Because of these factors, Lipo isn't exactly the "instant" and the healing time is highly related to the Lipo technique used and the amount of fat removed during the Lipo procedure. If you are planning to get Lipo for a specific event-a wedding, cruise, or reunion, or even just in time for swimsuit season, you will want to make sure to leave plenty of time for the recovery process so you can be looking your best when the event occurs.

Will My Lipo Results Last Forever?

One of people's top concerns with the thought of getting Lipo is the question of permanence. After all, Lipo is a fairly expensive procedure, and most people can't afford to get it redone every year or two if the effects aren't lasting. Before they put down the money, they want assurances that what they're paying for will stand the text of time.

Most doctors state that the effects of a Lipo are permanent. They state that the fat cells removed from a person's body will not inevitably re-grow after the surgery. This seems to be true. However, that is not to say that you will always look exactly like you do just after your Lipo surgery. How long your Lipo results last will depend on how you live your life and on your own natural aging process.

For people who are able to maintain their weight, eat healthy and exercise regularly, Lipo results are long lasting.

Although the fat cells that your Lipo removed will not magically grow back, your Lipo surgery will not magically keep you from regaining weight either. If you struggle with problems of weight gain previous to your Lipo surgery, you will likely experience similar problems after your Lipo surgery unless you change your diet, exercise and activity patterns. Although the adult human body does not tend to produce large amounts of new fat cells when in a state of stasis, the gain of large scale weight can and does trigger the growth of new fat cells.

Gaining large amounts of weight after a Lipo can lead to unpleasing results. Although for most patients the fat does not go back in the areas treated with Lipo; some patients report that they have experienced a re-growth of fat in their target area, leading them to exclaim that they can't tell the difference between their body before surgery and their body afterward. Others find that while their newly trimmed target area remains slim, other problem areas arise as the fat that would have gone there begins to accumulate in other areas.

The best way to avoid any this and make your Lipo results permanent is to simply live healthily. Eat well, and exercise regularly. If you have problems with this, you might consider meeting with your Lipo doctor, or with a nutritionist or personal trainer. They may be able to help you to make the changes to your lifestyle that will help you to keep your newly-sculpted body for a long time.

Of course, some change is inevitable with time. As people age, their bodies change. This is simply a fact of life, and it is the same for Lipo patients as well as for other people. You will see some changes in your body regardless of how healthily you live; however, the choices you make can help to slow the aging process and keep you looking your best for as long as possible.