Ask a Surgeon - Liposuction - I am considering liposuction and am curious as to how long it will take me to...

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I am considering liposuction and am curious as to how long it will take me to see...

Q:

I am considering liposuction and am curious as to how long it will take me to see results and approximately what percent of results will I see within the first few weeks, versus 2 months and 6 months? Also, how long does the swelling last? What are the odds of getting complications/infections from the surgery?

A:

Good questions -- but the answer is that everyone is different! With the "super wet" anesthetic technique adopted by many surgeons in the late 1980s, recovery from lipoplasty (liposuction) became faster -- but it still took 6 to 12 months before the final results were apparent. Today, further advances have improved recovery for many patients. I use a technique called ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty and find that the results patients obtain at 3 weeks are similar to the results I used to see at 6 months. Skin shrinkage, to conform to the new body contour, may continue for up to a year.

Board-certified plastic surgeons who are members of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery operate in inspected and accredited surgical facilities. Infection is very rare under these sterile conditions. One cannot be as certain of the conditions in a facility that is not accredited, state licensed or Medicare certified.