Light touch liposuction

"Light touch" describes liposuction performed under local anaesthetic with fine cannulas, treating smaller, defined areas while you are awake. It is not a different operation from liposuction - it is the same principle, done at a smaller scale with a different anaesthetic approach.

It is worth being clear about that, because language like "light", "gentle" or "walk-in walk-out" can make a surgical procedure sound like a facial. It is surgery. It carries surgical risks, and it leaves permanent, if small, scars at the entry points.

Surgical warning: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

What the technique involves

1. The area is marked with you standing, because fat behaves differently lying down
2. Local anaesthetic with adrenaline (tumescent fluid) is infiltrated into the fat layer - this numbs the area and reduces bleeding
3. Small entry points, usually a few millimetres, are made in creases where possible
4. Fine cannulas remove fat in a fanned pattern, with the surgeon assessing contour by feel as they go
5. Entry points are closed or left to drain; a compression garment goes on before you leave

You are awake, and you can usually be repositioned or asked to stand so contour can be checked - which is one genuine advantage over working under general anaesthetic. Expect pressure, pulling and movement rather than sharp pain, and expect it to feel strange.

Who it suits

• People near a stable weight they can maintain
• Localised fat that has not responded to diet and exercise - flanks, outer thighs, inner thighs, upper arms, under the chin, the abdomen in modest amounts
• Reasonable skin elasticity, so the skin retracts smoothly once volume is removed
• Good general health, and not smoking

Who it does not suit

• Anyone looking for weight loss. Liposuction is not a weight-loss procedure - it reshapes, and the weight removed is small
• Loose or poorly elastic skin. Removing volume from under slack skin leaves it slacker. That situation needs a skin-excision procedure with a longer scar, or nothing
• Large volumes or multiple large areas - those need a general anaesthetic in an appropriate facility
• Visceral fat, which sits inside the abdominal wall around the organs and cannot be reached by liposuction at all. A firm, round abdomen with little pinchable fat is usually visceral
• Anyone planning significant weight loss or a pregnancy - wait
• Cellulite, which liposuction does not treat and can occasionally make more noticeable

Its honest limits

• Working under local anaesthetic caps how much can be treated in one sitting, because there is a safe limit on local anaesthetic dose. More than one session may be needed
• Fat cells removed do not return, but the remaining ones still enlarge if you gain weight, and they can do so unevenly
• Contour irregularity, rippling, dents and asymmetry are recognised outcomes, more likely with superficial or aggressive treatment, and not always fully correctable
• The result is judged at three to six months, once swelling has resolved

Recovery

Soreness like a heavy bruise, worst on days two and three. Fluid leaking from entry points for a day or two is expected. Swelling increases for 48 to 72 hours, settles substantially over two to six weeks, and continues resolving for months. Numbness and firm lumpy areas under the skin are normal for weeks and soften gradually.

Compression garment as instructed, usually for several weeks including at night. This is the part people skip, and it affects the final contour. Walking from day one; desk work usually within a few days; gym and heavy activity at around four to six weeks. Arrange for someone to drive you home.

Risks

Bruising, swelling, numbness, contour irregularity, asymmetry, seroma (fluid collection), infection, skin discolouration, small permanent scars at entry points, and rarely skin injury or changes in sensation that persist. Local anaesthetic toxicity is a recognised risk of tumescent technique, which is why dose limits matter and why this belongs in appropriate hands.

Call 000 for chest pain, shortness of breath, or calf pain with swelling. Contact the clinic promptly for fever, spreading redness, increasing pain after day three, or discharge with an odour.

More: risks and complications.

Before you book

Since 1 July 2023, cosmetic surgery requires a GP referral, screening for underlying psychological conditions, at least two consultations before booking, and a cooling-off period of at least seven days for adults.

At consultation, ask what is realistically achievable for your anatomy - including the less-good end of the range - who will perform it, in what facility, what the total itemised cost is, and what a revision would cost if one were needed.

Related: liposuction, local versus general anaesthetic, liposuction versus weight-loss surgery.

Me Clinic has performed liposuction in Melbourne since the early 1980s, among the first clinics in Australia to offer it. 4 Burke Road, Malvern East VIC 3145. Phone 1300 852 050 or (03) 9569 3511. Specialist Plastic Surgeon consultation $350, Cosmetic Doctor $150, including GST, as at September 2024.

Individual results may vary. Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.