Liposuction procedures are used in order to take out stubborn pockets of excess fat that will not seem to disappear no matter how much you exercise. Usually, parts of the stomach, the hips, the abdomen, the thighs, the rear, and parts of the face are the most common locations for liposuction surgery.

Some people simply cannot benefit from liposuction. If you are significantly overweight or obese, liposuction will not be able to help you. Ideally, you should only be slightly overweight in order to be a good candidate for liposuction. If you are too overweight, your skin loses a lot of its elasticity. Therefore, having fat removed with liposuction can leave you with hanging folds of skin. You need to be generally healthy as well with no overt health problems.

There are two key types of liposuction procedures, beginning with tumescent liposuction. With this type, the surgeon injects a mixture of painkiller, saline, and epinephrine into the parts of your body from which fat will be taken away. This allows for pain management both during and following the procedure. It also makes the surgery itself either by keeping your blood vessels contracted. This lowers the risk of blood loss.

The second type of liposuction is assisted by an ultrasound. The energy of the ultrasound turns the fat cells to liquid. This allows it to be removed easier.

Generally, the procedure for liposuction itself involves many steps. It begins with anesthesia. This may be a local anesthesia or a general one. It all depends on how much excess fat you are having removed. By the same token, it can be performed at either a doctor's office or at the hospital. After the anesthesia has been applied, the surgeon makes a series of small incisions. Through these, whichever suction device being used slides into the incision and removes the fat.

An array of different tools can be used during liposuction surgery. Sometimes a syringe is used, sometimes it is a pump. As mentioned, ultrasounds can be used as well, as can lasers. One standard tool is the cannula. This is what is actually inserted into the incisions. It is the tool that sucks the fat out of your body.