When a surgeon is performing liposuction to give the patient a nice shape, many times the area to be contoured requires aggressive suction. This typically is necessary on the flanks and the sides of the body. Tumescent anesthesia is also injected to decrease bleeding and pain and decrease the general anesthetic requirements when you are asleep. The tumescent anesthesia needs to be evenly distributed in the abdomen. This will essentially engorge the subcutaneous tissue. If more tumescent anesthesia is injected on one side than the other, you can develop contour irregularities or liposuction deformities.
Liposuction deformities come in various forms. You can develop indentations, areas of lumpiness and bumpiness, or unevenness in the fat layer resulting in some areas with more fat than others. If you want a star body, your liposuction needs to be performed by a plastic surgeon who is experienced in this procedure.
Good patient selection also is critical to avoid issues with liposuction deformities. Patients who have excess skin before surgery are not good candidates for liposuction; liposuction does not remove skin, so if you have poor elasticity or excess skin, you will have a liposuction deformity 100% of the time. In order to avoid liposuction deformities, you must have good skin tone. In essence, if you have stretch marks, liposuction is not likely to be a good option for you. The tighter your skin tone, the less chance that you will have a liposuction deformity. Skin with good tone tends to retract and contract during the healing process after liposuction.
Certain things can be done to avoid liposuction deformities; certainly, seeing a surgeon who understands the procedure is important, but after surgery, wearing a girdle or corset and having lymphatic massages will help control fluid collection and inflammation and make the surgical site more even.