subject: What Is Skin Elasticity And How Does It Affect Liposuction? [print this page] Liposuction (also known as lipoplasty and suction lipectomy) is becoming increasingly popular in America and throughout the world. The procedure, which suctions excess fat out of specific areas of a patient's body, is performed hundreds of thousands of times every year in the United States alone. Last year, even in a recession, nearly 350,000 lipoplasties were performed in America. The surgery is similarly popular in other areas of the world.
However, as popular as the surgery is, it isn't for everyone. There are a number of factors which can determine whether or not someone is a good candidate for the surgery. Some serious conditions, such as serious chronic illness or dangerous heart and lung disorders, can disqualify a person from being able to undergo the surgery. Some more minor conditions can merely make it less likely that the surgery will produce ideal cosmetic results. One of these more minor factors is a low level of skin elasticity.
Skin elasticity is a measure of how tight and elastic a person's skin is. A person with high skin elasticity has skin that can easily stretch and return to its original position. A person with low skin elasticity has skin that cannot stretch very far. A person with low skin elasticity may have bags of loose and saggy excess skin, or he or she may have lots of large wrinkles.
Because liposuction removes mass from the body (in the form of fat), it can create some amount of excess skin. Because the skin has less that it needs to contain, there is less pressure on it. In a person with relatively elastic skin, this is not a problem, because the skin will simply tighten up again over the new, smaller area.
However, in a person who has loose, inelastic skin, this can cause additional wrinkling or sagging. There are a number of factors which determine a person's skin elasticity. It is in part determined by age, genetics, overall health, one's weight history and a number of other variables.
If you would like to undergo a lipectomy, but wonder whether or not you have a sufficiently high level of skin elasticity, you should consider speaking with a cosmetic surgeon in your area. Many lipoplasty surgeons offer free consultations to potentially interested clients. If you share your goals and concerns with your doctor, he or she ought to be able to tell you whether or not the surgery would be a good fit for you.
