Liposuction is a leading cosmetic procedure for one reason: because we don’t like having excess fat hanging around the thighs, buttocks, and abdomen. For decades, men and women around the world have turned to liposuction to complement the lifestyle habits they have instilled to maintain their weight. As more studies have been conducted to observe the potential results of liposuction, it has come to light just how protective the body is of its fat stores. For this reason, it is vital for liposuction patients to draw up their maintenance plan long before they need it.

General Exercise Guidelines after Liposuction

A funny thing may happen after liposuction: the desire to exercise may contradict what the body can handle. Patients who undergo a body-shaping procedure are often anxious to do whatever they can to see the complete transformation take place. Within a few days after liposuction, it is possible to resume light activities. Patients should not do anything more than 25 percent of what they would typically do in a day, and by that we mean they should stick to walking around the house at first. Walking is something that should start the day of surgery and should continue a few times a day to sustain circulation and prevent blood clots.

The Value of Resistance

It is interesting that, although liposuction is not a weight loss tool, follow-up studies tend to look at the potential for weight gain after this procedure. Because of this trend, many people go into weight management mode after liposuction. Of course, it is good to manage weight by eating well and performing routine aerobic exercise like walking or running. However, there is also good reason to add resistance workouts into the weekly schedule.

Resistance exercise can’t begin right away after liposuction, but it’s something to think about before surgery. To engage in resistance exercise may sound like you’ve got to lift weights or spend hours in the gym. This isn’t necessarily the case. “Resistance” doesn’t have to mean “weights.” It can also mean body-weight resistance. For example, when you perform push-ups, your muscles meet resistance from your own weight. From this perspective, resistance training may look like a yoga or Pilates class, or it may look like the use of comfortable machines or free weights at the gym. The more options you have, the more activities you can find to maintain the contours you love.

See how liposuction can jump-start your new body. Call our Cincinnati office at 513.985.0850

Liposuction has been a standard procedure for decades, helping men and women permanently improve their contours. As with anything that is widely used, the liposuction procedure has been refined over time. Today, we’ve got several techniques that help us achieve the desired outcome with fewer risks of side effects and adverse reactions. Here, we discuss how tumescent liposuction has made surgical fat reduction better.

What is Tumescent Liposuction?

The first method of surgical fat removal to be developed involved a few incisions and insertion of a small tube, or cannula. The cannula, attached to a vacuum device, would be moved back and forth beneath the skin to break apart and extract localized fat. Tumescent liposuction follows the same general process but includes an extra step.

When Dr. Krummen performs tumescent liposuction, she infuses fatty tissue with a wetting solution, or tumescent fluid. This solution is made of salt water, local anesthetic, and adrenaline. This infusion encourages blood vessels to shrink and decreases sensation. The standard tumescent liposuction procedure introduces as much as six-times more fluid than the volume of fat in the treatment area. By adding fluid before removing fat, we gain the following benefits:

• Maximum comfort. Because tumescent solution contains an anesthetic, many liposuction procedures can be performed with mild sedation instead of general anesthesia.
• Reduced bleeding. The adrenaline (or epinephrine) in tumescent fluid shrinks the capillaries that surround fat tissue. When they are only a fraction of their average size, these blood vessels release very little blood. According to studies, as little as one- to two tablespoons of blood may be lost during tumescent liposuction.
• Mild recovery. There will still be a bit of downtime after tumescent liposuction. Bruising and swelling still occur, but these side effects are much more subtle than standard liposuction due to the ease of the fat extraction process.

There’s still time to get your body in the shape you want before summer. Liposuction is an excellent complement to healthy lifestyle habits and achieves outstanding results that can last indefinitely with mindful eating and exercise.

Learn more about liposuction by scheduling your consultation in our Cincinnati office.