Lipoplasty, however, is a widely misunderstood procedure. Many people believe that lipo is an excellent way to rid themselves of excess fat - an alternative to dieting, so to speak. However, this is not true - lipoplasty is not a magic way to shed the pounds. If anything, minimal amounts of weight are actually lost through the procedure. In fact, lipoplasty is a body contouring process.
The point of lipoplasty is to create what is called 'negative space' in the silhouette of a body. There are certain proportions that are pleasing to the eye - at least to most human beings - and the surgeons involved in liposuction procedures aim to achieve these proportions by extracting a certain amount of fat from certain areas-in essence, sculpting the body. Common areas for lipoplasty include the abdomen, the face, the thighs and the buttocks.
Contrary to common opinion, liposuction doesn't remove all the fat from these areas, either. One of a surgeon's greatest skills is not simply knowing where to remove fat, but also where to leave fat alone. A good contouring procedure depends on this - we've all seen the horror stories of liposuction gone wrong. The best idea is to carefully research your cosmetic surgeon beforehand and select a really highly regarded one.
There are a few different types of lipoplasty to choose from. Firstly, we have the older techniques where fat is simply broken up and suctioned out via a cannula. Then we have the newer generation of liposuction technologies-SmartLipo and Vaser Lipo. With Smartlipo the fat is liquefied by laser before being suctioned out. Vaser lipo uses ultrasound waves to break up the fat.