Liposuction and Fat Transfer

Transcript

Liposuction involves the removal of fat through a very small incision using a suction cannula or tube. It has been around for several decades and has been improved with many technical refinements and newer energy delivery devices. I use liposuction as a standalone procedure to reduce stubborn areas of fat that remain despite exercise and weight loss. It's very good at bringing difficult areas back into proportion with the rest of the body. However, it is not a replacement for weight loss, which should be achieved using diet and exercise. I also use liposuction as an adjunctive or additional procedure to help refine the results in breast reconstructions, tummy tucks and other body contouring operations. Fat transfer involves taking fat, usually using liposuction, and then separating the viable cells out using a filtration or washing system. These cells are then re-injected elsewhere on the body to provide additional soft tissue volume. Not all of the fat injected survives, but it has become an established surgical technique, particularly in the face and breast. I use fat transfer in almost all of my breast reconstructive procedures, again as an adjunctive procedure like liposuction, to help refine the results and improve the contour of the breast. Whilst fat transfer alone does not produce a reliable result for breast enhancement, it's particularly helpful in combination with silicone breast implants. This combination of implants and fat is called hybrid or composite augmentation. I also use fat transfer a lot when removing breast implants as it minimises the impact of the sudden volume loss and can improve the quality of the skin. When fat is injected in the buttock, the procedure is known as BBL or Brazilian butt lift. I have grave concerns about this procedure due to the high complication rate and even deaths that have been reported. Indeed, I am on record for speaking out against BBL in the UK when I was the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. Despite some recent improvements in the safety profile amongst some very specialised surgeons, I do not perform this operation.