Body Sculpture

Posted Tuesday, September 11, 2007 to PROCEDURES > Body

Posted by The Original Anti-Aging & Cosmetic Surgery Magazine

Holly O'Neill spoke with Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Lawrence Koplin MD about liposuction & body sculpting.

Liposuction can remove stubborn pockets of fat and help sculpt the body. It requires a high level of technical skill and experience combined with an artistic ability to envisage and create the desired form. In recent years liposuction has become refined to the extent that bruising now should resolve within a week, discomfort is minimal and responds to simple pain relief, patients can return to work 3-7 days post-operatively and the result is a smooth and often dramatic improvement.

We followed Natasha through her liposuction step-by-step.

Natasha was not happy with the way her body looked while she didn't consider herself overweight. she had pockets of fat that just wouldn't budge with exercise. She went to see Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Lawrence Koplin MD and decided to have a small amount of fat removed from her neck, abdomen, hips, outer thighs, inner thighs and knees.

Step 1: Marking the areas

Before the operation the doctor marks the areas being treated on the patient. The patient is marked in front of a mirror, so they can have input and give their approval. Dr Koplin and Natasha discussed each area as it was marked. 'This is really important because surgery is scary and it is reassuring for the patient when they go to sleep that they know exactly what is going to happen," explains Dr Koplin.

Step 2: Anesthetic & injection of fluid

Natasha was then given a medium level anesthetic and Dr Koplin injected the "super wet" solution of tumescent fluid. Once the fluid is injected the patient has an extra level of numbness due to the local anesthetic. The solution is not necessarily injected all at once; in cases such as Natasha's it can be done sequentially, depending on how many. areas are being worked on. The anesthetist can then reduce the anesthetic to a much lighter one.

Step 3: Removal of fat

"I use very small cannulas that have rounded ends to them and I'm sculpting the body," says Dr Koplin. He carefully monitors the area he is treating. "The results on the table should be reasonably close to what they look like when all the bruising and swelling has gone," he says. Dr Koplin moves and turns the patient while he is operating. This assists in his assessment of what the results will be. "By turning the patient, or bending the patient's leg, we can see how the leg looks, not just on the table," says Dr Koplin.

"It is a precise surgery," explains Dr Koplin. He measures exactly what he removes from one side of the body and removes the same amount from the other side, all the time aware of needing to achieve an aesthetic and symmetrical result.

Natasha's procedure took about three hours in total.

Conclusion

The incision sites where the cannulas are inserted are very small, 3-4mm. Each opening is closed with a dissolving stitch that can't be seen. A small sticking plaster is placed over each incision site.

The patient is then placed in a compression girdle. "I explain to them that when they wake up they will already be in a girdle," says Dr Koplin. "The girdle is a controlled way to teach the skin how to shrink and also limits the swelling and bruising." The compression garment is left on for 3-5 days; it is very important that it is not taken off at all in the first few days.

Patients are given three prescriptions when they leave the operating rooms. "One is an analgesic, one is a sleeping pill and one is an antibiotic," explains Dr Koplin. "The antibiotic they must take and the sleeping pill and pain pill they take if they need to." He continues: "It's not usually very painful; it's uncomfortable more than it is painful."

Patients tend not to sleep well for a few days, so sleeping pills can help them get a good nights sleep, which is very important for the healing and recovery process. Most people are back at work, as in Natasha's case, after a week.

Once patients are at home and recovering, they continue to wear the garment for a period of 2-3 weeks until t~e bruising has gone. The garment is quite adaptable and patients are able to wear it under a long dress or a pair of slacks, and no one is any the wiser.

Sculpting through liposuction can give the body a more esthetic appearance, smoother contours and balanced proportions.

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