Lunchtime liposuction: The new ninety minute surgery

Source: Daily Mail 5th October 2006

Liposuction, sold as a short-cut to re-shaping your body, usually involves a general anaesthetic and an overnight stay in hospital. Now, however, a new technique uses a local anaesthetic which allows the patient to be home just a couple of hours after surgery. So does it work? Helen Conyers, 29, a PR who lives in Manchester, is one of the first women in the UK to undergo Liposoft — the new surgical alternative. Here, she tells her story to FEMAIL.

"I’m naturally slim but I’ve had a major hang-up about my thighs since my mid-20s when cellulite started to appear in abundance, largely, I think, due to my sedentary office job.

"Today, I’m having a consultation with a surgeon at the Transform Clinic in London to see if I’m suitable for Liposoft — a new treatment in the UK that promises to be a revolutionary alternative to traditional liposuction, thanks to its short operative and recovery times.

"Some of my friends think I’m mad because I’m a size ten, but I still have lumpy thighs. I am not comfortable wearing a bikini and, like millions of women, am frustrated that the fat on my thighs won’t budge despite regular exercise and a healthy, low-fat diet.

"Transform’s surgeon Mr Singh is lovely and says it would be the ideal treatment for me as it’s been designed for women who are slim but have stubborn areas of fat they can’t shift. "Even better, Liposoft can be performed under local anaesthetic so I can go home shortly after surgery.

"I decide to go ahead with the operation and, amazingly, there’s a slot for me in a week’s time. It’s going to cost £3,400, but I’ve got savings and you can’t put a price on self-confidence.

Thursday September 7

"I’ve arrived in London for my operation in the morning and will spend tonight at my aunt’s house in Bromley. I have to be at the clinic in Golders Green, North London, at 10.30am.

"The butterflies in my stomach tell me the chances of my sleeping tonight are slim. Although I’m excited about finally waving goodbye to my saddlebags, I feel nervous, too.

"I’ll be awake during the 90-minute procedure and wonder whether I really won’t be able to feel a thing.

Friday September 8: 10.30am

"It’s a beautiful late summer’s morning as I report to reception, which is a hive of activity. A lady stands on the doorstep with her overnight bag, waiting for a taxi.

"I think she must have had a boob job the day before since she has a voluptuous chest but a slender frame.

10.45am

"I’m looking forward to my operation now and a nurse comes to take me up to my private bedroom. We walk past a waiting room where a mix of men and women all nervously pretend to read magazines.

"I wonder who’s here for surgery and who’s here to give moral support. My bedroom has an en-suite bathroom, a large single bed, a TV and quaint leaded windows.

"With the consent forms completed, Mr Singh comes into the room and asks me to strip to my underwear. I jokingly tell him that I’m getting used to showing him my bottom.

"He draws on my thighs with a purple pen to outline the areas of fat I want removed — my outer thighs, saddlebags, and around my knees. Strangely, the right leg is apparently more fatty than the left.

"A nurse gives me a bright turquoise gown and hat and a pair of fetching paper knickers to put on.

11.25am

"This is it. I’m led into the theatre — a big room with bright white walls, lots of lights, technical-looking equipment and an operating table in the middle.

"At the end of the table is the Body Jet — the machine responsible for draining away my fat. It’s a neat unit with a clear, three-litre plastic container on each side. That’s where all my fat will collect.

"A clear tube protrudes from the machine onto which Mr Singh will attach a large, foot-long canula — a tube the size of a knitting needle that’s hollow inside.

"He’ll insert it repeatedly into my thighs to spray in a liquid — a mixture of saline and adrenaline — that will help break down the fat cells before using the same tube to suck them out.

"I’m introduced to the anaesthetist who inserts a small canula into the crook of my left arm and injects a sedative into it. A pulse monitor is clipped to my thumb.

"Within minutes the sedative kicks in and I feel as if I’ve had a few glasses of wine. Theatre nurses busy themselves wrapping my feet, lower legs and torso in protective sheets, then paint my legs with iodine to prevent infection.

11.40am

"Mr Singh begins surgery on my right leg and first injects a local anaesthetic into the deep tissue of the saddlebag. ‘It might sting a little,’ he warns, and he’s right.

"I wince as I feel a scratchy, burning sensation but he reassures me this will be the only discomfort.
"He makes a one-centimetre incision in my saddlebag with a scalpel and inserts the large canula, attached to the Body Jet machine, into the cut.

"He explains that a solution containing adrenaline is now being sprayed under my skin to help loosen the fat cells.

"Unlike conventional lipo, I’m not being pumped with a large quantity of fluid, which is used to attack a bigger area of fat.

"Instead, Liposoft allows him to have more control over the procedure and for the fat cells to be removed with precision — leading to significantly improved symmetry and reduced swelling.

"I feel a pulling sensation but no pain. There’s a lot of suction and spraying noises as the fluid goes in and the fat is sucked out.

"The anaesthetist reports that the first plastic container attached to the Body Jet is already filling up with fat.

11.50am

"Amazingly, there is already almost a litre of fat and body fluids in the plastic container. It’s a mixture of one third fat which sits on the top, with the rest being fluids and the adrenaline solution.

"Mr Singh manipulates my thigh with the flat of his hand to ensure an even finish. Then he announces that my saddlebag is gone and that he is now injecting anaesthetic lower down my outer thigh, ready to make a second incision. It stings again, but lasts only a few seconds.

12.10pm

"We’re on the home straight with my right leg. Mr Singh numbs the inside of my right knee and it hurts because there’s not much flesh in that area.

"Again, he inserts the canula and begins to work on breaking down the fat and sucking it out. I feel much more awake now as the sedative I was given earlier wears off.

12.20pm

"Just 40 minutes after surgery began, my right leg is apparently a shadow of its former self, with the treatment completed and an astonishing 2,700 millilitres of fat and fluid expelled.

"I can’t wait to see the results once the procedure’s finished.

12.25pm

"Mr Singh begins to anaesthetise my left leg and makes an incision into the saddlebag. It stings. The anaesthetist, Dr Moustafa, tells me to relax.

"I joke that I loved the blissed-out feeling the sedative gave me at the start and ask if I can please have some more. He agrees because I’m feeling a bit of discomfort on my left side because I’m more awake now.

"It’s injected through the canula in the crook of my arm and, almost immediately, I’ve got that warm, fuzzy feeling again.

12.45pm

"I’m so sleepy that I’m struggling to keep my eyes open as Mr Singh continues to extract fat from my left thigh through a second incision.

"He tells me about a young woman who had Liposoft on her stomach at another London clinic the week before and an hour later she was out buying shoes on Oxford Street.

12.55pm

"There’s 1,700 millilitres of fat and fluid now in the second plastic container and Mr Singh makes the final incision on my inner knee. It’s sensitive again but I’m so woozy I barely notice.

"I’m vaguely aware that Dr Moustafa is entertaining Mr Singh and the nurses with tales of his grandmother, who died recently — at the age of 110.

1.10pm

"I must have dropped off because all of a sudden I’m opening my eyes to hear Dr Moustafa saying: ‘That’s it Helen, it’s all over now.’

"I’ve only been asleep for about 15 minutes. Mr Singh is putting an internal stitch into each of the incisions and a plaster on top.

"The nurses remove the protective sheets and lift me carefully onto a trolley then wheel me into the recovery room next door.

"A total of 2.2 litres was taken from my left leg and Mr Singh tells me about two litres of the total fluid sucked out of my thighs will be pure fat. I feel fresh and totally awake. It’s difficult to believe I’ve just had surgery.

1.30pm

"Back in my private room, I sit up and peel back the bedcovers to admire my new thighs. It’s like looking at someone else’s legs.

"Gone are the saddlebags and I’ve got a lovely smooth, flat shape like an athlete’s at the top of each thigh. My knees look much slimmer, too.

"But my legs are still covered in iodine and I can see what looks like the first signs of bruising and swelling.

1.45pm

"I stand up and lift my gown to inspect my legs in the mirror. I’m given a three-day course of antibiotics to prevent infection, painkillers in case I need them and a pair of tight, white leggings to wear for two weeks while my legs heal.

"A nurse says she will call me this evening to check I’m feeling well.

3pm

"I can’t believe it, but I’m already waving goodbye to the medical team and jumping into a taxi to meet Mum in central London before she drives me down to stay with her and Dad in Kent for the weekend.

"It’s all very surreal but if I’d had a general anaesthetic and traditional liposuction I’d have needed an overnight stay at the clinic and probably wouldn’t have been able to sit down for a week due to the bruising.

September 9

"I wake up, and it takes me a second to remember that 24 hours ago I was in an operating theatre.
"My thighs look quite puffy and swollen this morning but there’s barely any bruising and no pain, which means I’m ready for a shopping trip with Mum.

September 11

"I’m back at work today in Manchester and my thighs are swollen. But that’s normal — the body’s natural defence when it’s been through a trauma is to retain water to protect itself.

"In two weeks’ time I’ll be totally recovered and I can’t wait to see my new thighs.

September 27

"It’s almost three weeks since my operation, and I’m happy with the results. My thighs are so smooth that it’s like looking at someone else’s legs.

"The lumps, bumps and saddlebags are gone, the sides of my thighs are toned and my knees look slender. I can see the difference when I wear skinny jeans because my silhouette is lithe.

"I can’t wait to get a little pair of shorts on next summer.

For more information or to arrange a consultation with Transform Cosmetic Surgery Group, call 0500 595959 or visit www.transforminglives.co.uk