Although body contouring has been on the scene since the end of the last century, with the advent of liposuction, body sculpting became more popular due to the virtual elimination of scarring. The aspiration of fat is a relatively recent procedure that dates from 1977 with clinical applications in the 1980s. This technique consists of the extraction of accumulations of fat located in different parts of the body with the objective of shaping (liposculpture) the body without major incisions, using only cannulas connected to syringes or an aspiration machine that eliminates unwanted fat.

The improvement of anesthetic techniques and new instruments have led to an increased demand for body contouring. Currently there are different types of liposuction and each has its indications and contraindications, which must be determined according to a clinical and individual study of each patient:

1. Dry liposuction
2. Wet (tumescent) liposuction
3. Superficial liposuction
4. Deep liposuction
5. Liposuction with lipoaspiration pump
6. Liposuction with syringe
7. Ultrasonic assisted liposuction
8. Ultrasonic liposuction
9. Large volume liposuction

Candidates. Liposuction is not a way for patients to lose weight, it is a technique that is used to sculpt or extract fat from different parts of the body to improve the corporeal contour. The ideal candidate is a patient who is not obese, with fatty deposits in some regions, but with good skin tone and without stretch marks or scars. Most regions can be treated with liposuction since there are different cannulas for each area of the body. The areas most frequently requested are abdomen, hips, sides of legs and thighs, neck and double chin. Other areas are cheeks, the back, the chest region, inner thighs and ankles.

Surgery. Is generally performed with local anesthesia by infiltration and intravenous sedation, although some patients prefer general anesthesia. The amount of fat extracted varies from 200 to 2500 cubic centimeters; the small incisions through which the cannula is inserted (1 cm in length) are placed in areas that are usually covered to avoid them in the postoperative period.

Postoperative care. Following 30 to 90 minutes of surgery, special bandages or lycra garments are placed on the patient to produce compression in the treated areas. Once the patient has recovered from anesthesia he or she may leave the clinic or hospital, although some patients choose to remain 24 hours. The patient must rest for 5 days, although most resume their activities before that. Anti-inflammatories and analgesics are prescribed. All patients note a reduction in corporeal volume within 7 days with a subsequent continued reduction and complete recovery within 8 weeks.

Before and after photos at 4 months.
Extraction of 500 cubic centimeters of fat in each leg using tumescent liposuction with syringe.