PLANNING

During your consultation with Dr. Kolker, he will thoroughly discuss your goals and desires with you. After a detailed history and a thorough discussion of the areas that concern you most, Dr. Kolker will examine you, paying careful attention to the distributions of excess fat, and the skin tone, elasticity, or excess in the areas. It is always best to perform liposuction when the fat excess is localized to areas that have not responded to diet and exercise, and that you are close to (within 10%) of your ideal body weight. With the aid of digital photography and computer imaging, Dr. Kolker will carefully plan with you the liposuction procedure or combination of procedures that will help you to achieve your most natural and desired result. Dr. Kolker will answer all questions that you might have regarding any step of the liposuction procedure process.

PROCEDURE

Liposuction is always performed using the "tumescent" or "super-wet" technique, whereby the areas being treated are infused with an anesthetic solution (containing lidocaine, and epinephrine) that allows for the painless and meticulous removal of fat with minimal bleeding. Small liposuction cannulas (hollow tubes) are placed through tiny, discrete incisions, the fat cells are removed, and the regions are sculpted. Under certain circumstances, power assisted liposuction (P.A.L.) or ultrasound assisted liposuction (U.A.L.) techniques will be used. Depending upon the regions to be treated and the amount of excess fat to be removed with liposuction, the procedure takes between one and four hours. Liposuction is most often performed as an ambulatory procedure in our fully accredited office-based surgical facility. With larger volume liposuction, an overnight stay with close monitoring by a private duty nurse, or the performance of the liposuction procedure in a hospital setting, may be required.

RECOVERY

A compressive garment will be worn day and night for two weeks following liposuction, and at night for an additional two to four weeks. The liposuction garment may be removed for showers and breaks as needed. There will be bruising and swelling of the areas, which is most significant during the first two weeks after liposuction. By six weeks following liposuction, most of the swelling will have resolved, but it takes approximately twelve weeks for the final results of your liposuction to be seen. Most people return to school or work one to three days after liposuction, and slightly longer (one week) after larger volume liposuction, or liposuction of multiple areas. Light aerobic exercise (treadmill, elliptical) is begun after approximately seven days, and more strenuous activity is begun three weeks after liposuction.

RELATED PROCEDURES

Liposuction can be performed as an isolated procedure, or in combination with other plastic surgery procedures. Liposuction may combined with abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), and can be added to a fat grafting procedure (autologous fat grafting, where fat cells are removed from one area of the body and transferred to another) used to smooth or fill lines and folds of the face or elsewhere on the body. Other facial rejuvenation procedures may also be combined with liposuction, and breast enhancement surgery may also be performed with liposuction as well.

If you would like to learn more about liposuction in New York, we invite you to meet with Dr. Kolker for a private consultation at our office, located at Park Avenue and 70th Street in New York City, by calling 212-744-6500, or by scheduling an appointment online.