Liposuction in Calgary

Slim and reshape body contours

Liposuction will help your body appear slimmer and more-toned looking than before. While liposuction can significantly improve the contour of your body, the result must be maintained with a healthy diet and exercise routine. A poor diet and lack of exercise following surgery will result in fat re-accumulation in those same areas that had undergone liposuction. Treatable areas of the body can include the thighs, arms, hips, waist, back, inner knees, chest, and chin. Overweight patients and those who have experienced significant weight loss may need a combination of liposuction and skin excision procedures.

During your initial consultation, Dr. Jeffrey Dawes will discuss your desired results and perform a thorough evaluation of your body shape, size, and proportions. He will determine if you are a good candidate for liposuction and may also recommend combining your liposuction with other body contour-enhancing options. Liposuction is often combined with other procedures to create a lean hour-glass figure, it is one of the most effective ways to achieve a more proportional and aesthetic appearance.

Is Liposuction Right for Me?

Good candidates for liposuction are individuals who:

  • Are at or near their ideal body weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle
  • Are of average weight or slightly above-average weight
  • Have good skin elasticity (Liposuction does not tighten skin or improve cellulite)
  • Have localized fat pockets that don’t improve with diet and exercise
  • Want to achieve a more proportionate appearance
  • Want to make their clothes fit better and body appear slimmer
  • Patients with cellulite are not good candidates for liposuction, as they may suffer from skin irregularities. Dr. Dawes can provide you with additional options for the correction of this particular problem.

    Who is NOT a candidate for Liposuction?

    There are two scenarios where Dr. Dawes would advise a patient against having liposuction. The first is if the person is overweight by a significant amount. Liposuction is not a weight loss procedure; it is a body contouring procedure.

    The second scenario that would preclude being a good candidate is skin elasticity. Sometimes if a person has gained and then lost a large amount of weight, their skin may have been stretched to a degree that it cannot tighten back down to its former degree of tautness. When it is removed from the item it can be permanently stretched out. Our skin can behave like this and lose its inherent elasticity. This is also a result of normal aging, although to a lesser degree. If a patient has loose, sagging, inelastic skin, surgery to remove that excess skin is a better option. For instance, on the abdomen a tummy tuck would be the way to go. On loose, sagging thighs, a thigh lift would be a better option. Under the chin, loose, hanging skin would make a neck lift better than liposuction alone.

    How Long does Liposuction Take?

    The length of your liposuction procedure varies by the area(s) being treated by Dr. Dawes, along with the amount of volume that is removed. Once Dr Dawes is familiar with the area or areas you seek to address, he can give you a good idea of how long your procedure will take. Following your consultation, you will be given a quote based on the time determined.

    Recovery Expectations

    You can expect moderate discomfort in the suctioned areas, which should gradually improve over about 1 week. Your wounds will be very small and may drain small amounts of fluid for 1-2 days following your surgery. You may feel stiff and sore for a few days. Most of the swelling usually subsides in 6-8 weeks, but occasionally some may persist for 6 months or more. Bruising will likely be very extensive and may persist for up to 4 weeks.

    What areas of my body can I have liposuction?

    As cannulas have become smaller, liposuction can be performed all over the body. These are the typical areas our patients from Calgary and the surrounding areas seek to target:

    • Abdomen and waist
    • Buttocks
    • Flanks (love handles)
    • Back rolls
    • Thighs (inner + outer)
    • Knees

    What should I expect after my Liposuction procedure?

    Dr. Dawes uses tumescent liposuction, where he first injects a solution of sterile saline, epinephrine, and lidocaine. The saline inflates the area; the epinephrine acts to constrict the blood vessels for less bruising and blood loss and to constrict the fat cells making them easier to break loose, and the lidocaine acts as a local anesthetic.

    Liposuction does not involve a painful recovery. After your procedure, treated areas will be wrapped to help reduce swelling, bruising, and pain. Compression garments or elastic bandages will then be worn over the treated areas for three to four weeks. This minimizes swelling and helps your skin and tissue adapt to their new contours. You will have a fair amount of bruising and swelling, however, for a week to 10 days. Depending on if you had one area or multiple areas treated, you can return to work in two to three days or it may be one week. As your swelling subsides, your full results will be evident, but this can take up to a couple of months.

    woman’s bare stomach before and after liposuction, stomach flatter after procedure

    Liposuction FAQs

    Patients sometimes believe that liposuction is a weight loss procedure, akin to something like bariatric surgery. Dr. Dawes wants to clear that up — liposuction is a body-contouring procedure, not a weight-loss procedure. Actually, removing too much fat in a single session can be life-threatening for a person.

    Liposuction has always been a great option for removing stubborn pockets of fat that are highly resistant to changes in diet and exercise. While Dr. Dawes will remove a few pounds of fat during a procedure, that’s not the point. The goal is to slim the contour by removing pockets of unwanted fat.

    Liposuction is performed under general anesthesia or intravenous sedation. Dr. Dawes will make small incisions in the skin; a cannula is inserted through the incisions and moved back and forth to loosen fat. A surgical vacuum or syringe attached to the cannula is used to suction the dislodged fat out of the body. After the liposuction procedure is complete, the treated area is stitched and bandaged.

    Tumescent refers to the fluid that is injected into the fat followed by suction-assisted aspiration of fat using a small cannulae. This technique has the advantages of safety, lack of need for hospital admission, and rapid postoperative recovery time. This method is performed under local anesthesia.

    This depends on the patient and the area but may vary between 1-4L of fat and infiltrate.

    Although most people will notice an improvement in their body contour immediately after surgery, swelling will often obscure the final result. Most of this swelling settles within 3 weeks but any residual swelling may continue to resolve over the course of three months or longer. A supportive compression garment is usually worn for the first three weeks following surgery in order to reduce swelling and aid in the healing process. It may take up to six months for the results to be fully apparent as the skin gradually tightens. The majority of liposuction patients go home on the day of their procedure. Most can return to desk work after 5 to 10 days.

    Generally, Dr. Dawes makes between two and six small incisions to access an area. Very small incisions are used, minimizing scarring and healing time. The incisions are also placed in strategic areas that are hidden and can easily be concealed with clothing.

    Although liposuction is not an overly invasive procedure compared to what it used to be, patients still need to follow the pre-procedure protocols for surgery. This means not smoking for two weeks prior to your procedure and for at least two weeks after. You’ll need to stop taking aspirin or other medications or supplements that can reduce the ability of your blood to clot. This will limit your bruising. If you’re having larger areas treated, you should prepare your house for a few days of laying low.

    As with any surgical procedure, there are risks. Although rare, for liposuction these may include infection, bleeding, contour irregularities, asymmetry, and fat embolism.

    Liposuction also does not improve loose skin or cellulite. Loose skin is more appropriately addressed with a tummy tuck procedure. While liposuction can significantly improve the contour of your body, the result must be maintained with a healthy diet and exercise routine. A poor diet and lack of exercise following surgery will result in fat re-accumulation in those same areas that had undergone liposuction.
    There are some specific complications with liposuction:

    • Contour irregularities — The treated area can appear bumpy or wavy. If the patient has inelastic skin, this is more prevalent.
    • Numbness — Any numbness in the area is usually temporary, but it can endure.
    • Fluid accumulation — Temporary pockets of fluid (called seromas) can form. These may need to be drained.

    As with any surgical procedure, there are risks. Although rare, for liposuction these may include infection, bleeding, contour irregularities, asymmetry, and fat embolism.

    Dr. Dawes uses a very thin cannula, so insertion incisions are small enough to not require stitches to close. The tumescent solution firms the fat, making it easier to break free. And power-assisted methods make it even easier. This leads to far less tissue trauma. Plus, the tumescent solution has lidocaine in it, helping to anesthetize the entire treatment area. You can expect moderate discomfort in the suctioned areas, which should gradually improve over about 1 week. You may also feel stiff and sore for a few days post-op.

    This depends in part on the area or areas you had treated. Dr. Dawes will have you wear compression garments or compression bandages on the areas treated, and you’ll wear these (day and night) for 3 weeks. After this, you must continue to wear it at night for another 3 weeks. You may start walking immediately after surgery. However, activities involving the affected sites should be minimized for about 2 weeks. Strenuous exercise and activities should be avoided for 4 weeks.

    The body only has a limited number of fat cells, and they generally increase and decrease in size with the gain and loss of weight. By removing fat cells from an area such as your lower abdomen, that area will now have fewer fat cells permanently. It is possible to build new fat cells, but that only occurs with a large increase in weight. If you maintain a healthy weight and incorporate some exercise into your daily life, you’ll enjoy your slimmer contours created with liposuction for the rest of your life.

    Liposuction is not a weight-loss procedure, so it is considered to be an elective procedure. This means it is not covered by the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan. Dr. Dawes does offer financing through Medicard, our preferred third-party provider.

    See What Our Patients Say…

    “My experience at Jeffrey C Dawes was fabulous! The staff is so friendly and knowledgeable! Plus love the results! I would definitely recommend it!”

    “What a wonderful experience. Dr. Dawes gave me a thorough and honest consultation. All my questions were answered and all my options clearly laid out. The front employees were very friendly and inviting. I can’t recommend the clinic enough!”

    Learn More

    Contact us today to learn more about our plastic surgery products & services.

    Book a consultation online or call 403.571.3141

    “My role, in part, is to assist patients through the process of determining which surgical or non-surgical options would help them meet their aesthetic goals and realistic expectations” - Jeffrey C. Dawes MD, FRCSC

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    What Happens in a Consultation?

    1. You will meet Dr. Dawes for an individualized, comprehensive evaluation. Dr. Dawes will offer individualized recommendations regarding the best treatment options available to you in a way that will allow you to make a confident, well-informed decision.

    2. You will then meet with a staff member to review your customized quote, discuss financial options and ask questions.

    3. Discuss potential treatment or procedure dates.

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