New York Liposuction

Serving New York City In Manhattan And Surrounding Areas

from Dr. Bellin's Beauty Science (copyright 2001)

I feel that there are many ways to achieve the same result, and different surgeons will recommend different methods based on their experience. This is true of every plastic surgery procedure, not just liposuction. Therefore, I wish to present another method of liposuction that I believe is superior to the other techniques presented here for most of the prospective patients who want liposuction. It is one that I developed myself and have used for over fifteen years. As you have read, most practitioners do liposuction under total anesthesia. But doing it that way can often be inaccurate, despite the skill of the surgeon. Doing the surgery with a patient lying asleep on an operating table cannot achieve the accuracy that I can with my technique. The problem is that while a patient is lying asleep on an operating table, the fatty areas fall away, blending into the rest of the body, making the decisions necessary for an accurate removal of fat very difficult.

Accuracy is important, because if too much fat is removed from an area, it will create deformities such as waviness, rippling, depressions or dimpling of the skin. If that were to occur, the problem is most likely to be permanent or at best require a second operation for correction of the defect that was left. Typically, fat injections are used post-operatively to fill in the deformed areas, but many doctors believe that the injected fat eventually dissolves, leaving the distortion visible. (I think survival of the fat depends on the technique used.) On the other hand, if not enough fat is removed, the operation must be done over.

For this reason, I developed a highly accurate method of doing liposuction under local anesthesia so that the patient can stand up several times during the procedure and be evaluated. Obviously, one cannot stand up under general anesthesia. When fat is removed, the skin contracts immediately, thus I can make judgments as to how much more to remove and whether the area looks smooth.

The method works as follows: first I give you intravenous tranquilizers for sedation so that you are not completely aware of what is happening, but you are perfectly safe. Then local anesthesia is put into the areas to be operated upon. Next, a period of about one half hour is allowed to pass for the anesthetic to become fully effective and to let the tranquilizers wear off, so you are awake enough to stand up for evaluation when necessary.

Then I make a small incision near the first of the areas to be treated and the liposuction is begun. About half of the removal is carried out and then I will ask you to get up so I can evaluate you. I can determine precisely how much fat has been removed, from what areas and how much more I need to do; as previously noted, the skin shrinks immediately so that I can make accurate judgments. You will then be asked to lie down once again so I can remove a bit more fat.

Areas requiring more reduction are outlined with a temporary skin marker and you will lie down again for more suctioning. This process is repeated several times - stand up for evaluation, lie down for more suction. I take out little bits at a time, very carefully, until it looks perfect. In this way there is very little risk that too much fat will be removed or that some will be left behind.

Sometimes the last little bit of fine-tuning is actually done with the patient standing up. This is true body sculpting! All the areas being treated are done in the same manner. At the end of the operation, you will be given a mirror to see the outcome of the surgery. Long before there is any swelling, both you and I can see the precise final result. You could even comment if you see some little bit more that you think needs removal; but this rarely happens as my nurse and I have a very good eye. Remember that I do not distort the tissue by inflating it with fluid. I can see exactly what is happening.

I then take pictures with a Polaroid camera while you are standing up. When you come back to the office a week later and want to know how much swelling there is, I show you the picture so that you feel at ease about the ultimate success of the operation during the post-operative period. You do not worry in the ensuing weeks that I did not get enough out. What you see is what you will get.

Since I am using local anesthesia that contains epinephrine to constrict blood vessels, just as with the tumescent technique, there is very little bleeding and there is a delay of many hours before soreness sets in.

I have had almost universal success with this method and it is perfectly safe. I have done about 1500 liposuctions in my career and have had to re-operate on only three patients for minor corrections.

Once again, this is an original and unique method of liposuction - true, precision, body sculpting.

Whatever technique your doctor employs, if he has a great deal of experience with his method, the chances are you will be very happy with the outcome.