Women and men who are not overweight but have isolated areas of fat they cannot get rid of through diet and exercise are good candidates for liposuction. Localized fat is often an inherited trait and liposuction is usually the only way to eliminate them.

If your skin has the tone and elasticity necessary to achieve a smooth result following fat suctioning, cervical or neck liposuction will restore a youthful and pleasing jaw line by getting rid of that double chin.

Dr. Gantous will assess the quality of your skin and may ask you how your areas of localized fat were affected by weight loss in the past.

Fat is removed by first anaesthetizing the area to be operated, making tiny incisions and inserting a small tube (a canula) through the incisions. The fat is then suctioned out and the area sculpted to the desired shape.

There are 3 methods of liposuction: a "dry" technique, a "tumescent" technique that introduces large amounts of fluid and an ultrasonic technique. The latter two are used most frequently today.

Though infrequent, some complications include bleeding, infection and reaction to anesthesia. Skin numbness is to be expected and is usually only temporary. It is possible, however, for some numbness to persist or even be permanent. Occasionally, there is skin discoloration in the areas that have been treated. Irregularities of the skin surface, including depressions or wrinkling can happen.

You can return to work in just a few days, though you will still have some swelling and bruising. This subsides within about a week. It may take several weeks before skin sensation returns.

It is not uncommon for a touchup to be performed later to further improve an area that has been suctioned.

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