Liposuction in Düsseldorf and the surrounding area.

Fat cells do not grow back after liposuction. However, the remaining fat cells—like any other fat cell—can grow again if you gain weight, causing you to gain weight again in the area that was treated, although this will not be as noticeable externally due to the reduced number of fat cells. However, if your energy balance is incorrect after liposuction, you will gain weight in other areas of your body. Your body cannot simply make the excess energy in the form of calories disappear into thin air, but must store it in the form of fat—just in a different place (abdomen, arms, face, etc.). That is why it is so important to maintain a balanced diet and get enough exercise even after liposuction.

As a rule, you will need 1-2 weeks to regain your previous activity level after liposuction. Most patients do not go to work for about 1 week, although the exact duration ultimately depends on your occupation. A sick note is only possible for medically indicated liposuction due to lipedema. Liposuction for cosmetic reasons does not result in a sick note and must therefore be performed during vacation time, for example. Light physical activity is usually possible again 1 week after the procedure. On the day of the operation, you will already be mobile enough to go home on your own, and light walks in the first few days after the operation are beneficial for a quick and good healing process.

The skin over the area where liposuction was performed takes about one year to completely retract and tighten. Nevertheless, sagging skin flaps may remain after liposuction, like a kind of "empty sack." To minimize this risk, we are happy to perform additional heat tightening of the skin with argon plasma or laser ("Endolift") at the end of the liposuction procedure in the same session. The applied heat contracts the collagen tissue under the skin and also promotes the formation of new collagen, which makes the skin look smoother and younger. The treatment is usually painless due to the local anesthesia already applied for the liposuction (tumescent local anesthesia) and takes an additional 20-30 minutes. It is not absolutely necessary, but is usually recommended immediately after liposuction. We would be happy to discuss with you during a consultation whether heat tightening is appropriate and desirable for you. The cost of additional heat tightening is approximately €1,200.

The extracted fatty tissue can either be discarded or, if you wish, transplanted to another part of the body (known as lipotransfer or lipofilling). The recipient areas on the breasts, buttocks, and face are very well suited for fat transplantation. However, fat transfer must be discussed in advance of the operation, as in this case the suctioned fat tissue is collected in a specially designed sterile container, then processed and subsequently transplanted. The transplanted fat tissue has a 70% chance of healing in its new location, although this cannot be guaranteed and depends on many factors. A transfer of 250 ml of fat per breast can achieve an increase in breast size of half a cup size. There are additional costs for fat transfer, which amount to approximately $1,000.

To perform liposuction, I recommend consulting a physician with training and experience in a surgical specialty. As a specialist in surgery and vascular surgery, I am very familiar with the anatomy of the area of the body to be treated and know the risks of organ or vascular injury, which I can avoid in advance. Ultimately, however, you should always listen to your gut feeling.

There are several differences between liposuction for lipedema and cosmetic liposuction. Firstly, there are differences in the surgical technique: in the case of lipedema, damage to the lymphatic vessels by the suction cannula should be avoided as much as possible. For this reason, in the case of lipedema, suction is performed parallel to the lymphatic vessels on the extremities in the longitudinal axis. In cosmetic liposuction, transverse suction directions are also possible, which can achieve an even better tightening effect. Both types of liposuction—for lipedema and aesthetic liposuction—naturally aim to achieve the best possible aesthetic result. However, in the case of lipedema, the focus is on reducing the painful fatty tissue, although the aim is, of course, to achieve the most aesthetically perfect result possible.

The next difference lies in the further postoperative course: in the case of lipedema, the urgently needed postoperative lymphatic drainage is covered by health insurance, which is not the case with cosmetic surgery. The patient can also be signed off work after lipedema liposuction. This is not possible with a procedure performed for cosmetic reasons, and the patient must take vacation time for the procedure and the initial recovery period. Last but not least, in the case of cosmetic surgery, you should take out follow-up cost insurance to be financially secure in the event of possible serious postoperative complications (e.g., hospital stays). This is not necessary in the case of lipedema, as this is the treatment of a disease (ICD 10) and therefore treatment of postoperative complications is also covered.

There are two different types of anesthesia used in liposuction: First, there is pure tumescent local anesthesia (TLA), in which the anesthetic is injected into the fatty tissue under the skin by the surgeon while the patient is awake. After waiting for the anesthetic to take effect, the fatty tissue is then suctioned out. No additional anesthesia is used in this procedure. The other option is liposuction under anesthesia, either in the form of light twilight sleep (analgesic sedation) or general anesthesia. These two latter anesthesia procedures are then performed by an anesthesiologist. A procedure under local anesthesia is always recommended, as this eliminates the very low risk associated with anesthesia and reduces the overall strain on the circulatory system to a necessary minimum.