Liposuction – The Best-loved Procedure

Liposuction is proving to be so popular because people are getting fed up of exercising and want to take the easy way out. These days, about one-third of the population is overweight, yet there is an obsession with being thin. (Credit: Nolimits)

Liposuction may sound like a dream to many – imagine going to sleep and waking up to find yourself a few pounds lighter, without the workouts and diets associated with weight loss. Liposuction is becoming a tool to realize this dream.

The number of people having liposuction rose by 90 per cent last year, compared to overall cosmetic plastic surgery procedures, which rose by 31 per cent. This pushed liposuction from the eighth most popular cosmetic procedure to third in just a year.

Liposuction is proving to be so popular because people are getting fed up of exercising and want to take the easy way out. These days, about one-third of the population is overweight, yet there is an obsession with being thin. Plastic surgeons say that most people who approach them view liposuction as a weight-loss solution, when actually; liposuction should be used only to sculpt a specific stubborn area and not remove masses of fat.

The desire to shed weight is not new, but this increased obsession could have something to do with the size-zero phenomenon. When it comes to body shape, 2006 will be remembered for the stick people who graced the front of gossip magazines. In addition, the screening of programs such as Extreme Makeover UK, where candidates' appearances are dramatically altered with cosmetic surgery, are almost certainly contributing to the popularity of the procedure.

Cosmetic surgery is also becoming more popular because women are earning more and are more willing to spend on themselves, whether on the latest handbag, the stinging stilettos, jazzy gizmos or the latest cosmetic procedure.

However, as with all surgery, liposuction has risks. In 2002 Denise Hendry, the wife of former Scotland football captain Colin Hendry, suffered complications during liposuction, and spent two months in intensive care after sustaining punctures to her bowel and colon.

Liposuction is a serious and painful procedure that involves a period of recovery. However, a new procedure - laser-assisted lipolysis - may change all that. This non-invasive procedure is carried out under local anesthetic. Lipolysis will take an hour and is done using a fiber optic laser which is inserted through a small incision in the skin and liquefies fat cells.