Liposuction Brisbane

Liposuction and Lipofill Surgery at our Brisbane Clinic

Why consider a Liposuction? | Liposuction surgery consultation | Liposuction surgery | Recovery period | Book Consultation

NorthEast Plastic Surgery, has changed the layout of the educational information about this
procedure to outline the risk and recovery information at the top of the page in order to be
compliant with the advertising guidelines of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
(Ahpra).

As we appreciate that this may impact your understanding, the surgeons will answer any related
questions at your consultation.

Possible Risks of Liposuction

It’s important to note that while uncommon, complications from liposuction are possible. Possible risks include:

• Keloid, hypertrophic or other problem scarring
• Wound complications
• Infections
• Bleeding and haematoma formation
• Seroma formation (accumulation of fluid that requires drainage)

In some cases, further surgery may be required to address such complications. Risks specific to liposuction, lipofill and liposculpture include:

• Contour irregularities
• Excess skin due to incomplete skin retraction
• Loss of fat graft, fat necrosis and oil cyst formation
• Asymmetry
• Damage to internal organs.

The areas treated with liposuction typically remain numb for several months after surgery.

At the completion of the consultation process and once you have had your concerns and questions addressed by the surgeon, you will be able to consent to surgery.

Recovery

It is important that access to medical attention is available by telephone once you have been discharged. Issues about which your surgeon needs to be made aware urgently include pain uncontrolled by medication, bleeding to the extent that the dressings soak through with blood, temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius, redness of the skin, swelling or any concerns related to the surgery.

Most patients are discharged on the same day as their surgery, once the anaesthetic has worn off. At discharge, you’ll be prescribed antibiotics and pain medication which will assist in keeping you comfortable and minimising wound infections.

Swelling and bruising will subside some six to eight weeks after surgery and your wounds are likely to heal within a week of surgery.

During your post-operative visits, your dressings will be changed as required and assessment of your wounds undertaken to ensure they are healing correctly. You’ll also be given strategies to assist with your swelling and scar management. While the surgeon will make every effort to minimise the length of your scars, scar formation varies from patient to patient, and there is no way to guarantee the quality of your scars. Scar management and swelling strategies include Light Emitting Diode (LED), Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD), massage, taping and silicone gel, which will assist in reducing the extent and resolution of your scars, while delivering your optimal result in as short a time as possible.

After your surgery, it is normal to experience numbness of the overlying skin – this tends to improve in the months following your surgery as the soft tissue swelling subsides. It may also take several weeks for the appearance of lipofilled areas to reflect the fat graft take and improvement in contour.

You should take great care when moving after your surgery and be very careful to avoid accidental trauma to the area, such as hitting or knocking it.

You will be able to resume driving once you have stopped taking your pain medication and resume strenuous exercise at around six to eight weeks after surgery. Return to work can be anticipated after approximately a week.

Why Consider Liposuction, Liposculpture or Lipofill?

Liposuction manages discrete deposits of fat in specific areas and the technique is also effective for treating enlargement of the male breast, (gynaecomastia), in addition to facial fat deposits.

Lipofill involves transfer of a patient’s own fat from one area of the body to another as a fat graft to augment volume.

Consultation at Our Brisbane Clinic

Before you undergo any one of these procedures, you will need to have a consultation with a surgeon at our surgery at Wickham House on Wickham Terrace in Spring Hill.

The aim of your first consultation is to determine your expectations of the procedure and for the surgeon to identify any potential limitations to achieving those expectations. A second consultation is recommended to address questions you may have of your surgeon.

Issues that your surgeon will discuss with you include:

• Optimising your weight: These procedures produce optimal results in circumstances where the main objective is to address discrete areas of fat and rather than overall weight reduction. They are best performed when weight to height ratios have been optimised. This will be discussed by your Surgeon, as it will impact the ability to achieve the desired result
• The extent of procedures performed: The degree of surgery required will be discussed by your surgeon, in addition to the extent of surgery which can be safely performed. Your surgeon will also discuss the relative risk and benefits of surgery will be necessary to achieve your aims. You will also be shown pre and post-operative images to illustrate the different cosmetic outcomes achievable given your particular body shape
• Skin quality: During the consultation, your surgeon will make an assessment of the quantity and quality of your skin overlying the potential treatment areas, and will advise you of the impact this may have on your ultimate outcome. Your surgeon will also make an assessment of your potential need for revisional surgery to address skin excess or incomplete skin retraction following surgery
• Scarring: Liposuction and lipofill are both procedures which are characteristically use multiple 3 -4 mm access incisions. The scars typically mature over a number of months.

Provision of Your Medical History

You will need to share with your surgeon your full medical history to ensure you can safely undergo the procedure. Your full medical history includes:

• Any previous surgery
• History of scarring
• Tendency for easy bruising and excessive bleeding or blood clots
• All medication you take
• Any allergies. This includes allergies to medication, anaesthetic agents or dressings
• Your history of smoking
• Your mental health history

It’s very important to inform your surgeon of these aspects, as they assist in determining how fit you are for the procedure and general anaesthesia.

Your surgeon may also advise you to stop taking certain medications that can interact with, or cause complications during anaesthetic, including:

• Blood thinning medication
• Oral Contraceptive Pill
• Aspirin
• Disprin
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories
• Some herbal medications, such as Fish and Krill oil, Garlic, Ginko, Arnica or Ginseng

Smokers will be advised to stop smoking six weeks before and after surgery and to avoid products that contain Nicotine as well.

You may also be required to undergo a series of blood or other diagnostic tests, to give your surgeon a full picture of your physical health.

How Much is Liposuction?

In line with the Australian Medical Board’s guidelines for advertising of regulated health services, we do not provide a set price for liposuction, liposculpture or lipofill.

Following consultation with your surgeon, you will be provided with a tailored cost of your procedure. If you would like to know about the quotation process before your appointment, we invite you to contact our clinic on 07 3180 3400, or via our online enquiry form.

There is a cost for an initial consultation at our Brisbane clinic, with the potential to receive a portion of this back via Medicare where eligible for rebate, provided you have a referral from your GP.

How is Liposuction, Liposculpture and Lipofill Performed?

The procedure is performed through minimal access incisions under general anaesthetic administered by Specialist Anaesthetists in an accredited hospital. Our practice does not use twilight sedation, which has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes. The surgeon will discuss the nature and placement of the scars required prior to surgery.

The number of incisions required will depend on the area and size to be treated. A cannula is then inserted into the fatty tissue under the skin, to which suction and power assisted techniques may be applied to remove the fat.

The wounds are repaired with external stitches which are removed one week after surgery. At the completion of surgery, a waterproof dressing is applied to allow for showering, and compression garments are applied to minimise soft tissue swelling.

Second Opinion

Mr Patrick Tansley MD FRCS (Plast) and Dr Sugitha Seneviratne FRACS (Plast) provide second opinion to patients seeking to address problems following plastic surgery performed elsewhere and revisional or corrective surgery. If you would like a second opinion on previously undertaken surgery, book a consultation to discuss this with one or both of our surgeons.