Liposuction
While nose surgeries lead the ranking of the most frequent aesthetic operations in Turkey, the most frequent operations in Europe are topped by the fat removal procedure called "liposuction".
This method, which is also referred to by many interesting names such as Liposuction, Lipolysis, Liposculpture, Liposhaping, Bodycontouring, and Bodyarchitecture, is essentially a procedure that helps shape disproportionate fat distribution areas of the body into a harmonious form by removing fat. In my opinion, the purpose of using so many different names is to draw patients' attention to this treatment method or to present it to the patient as if it were an invention rather than a surgery.
The reason why "Liposuction" surgery is among the most performed operations in Europe is not so much the obesity of the population, but rather the high number of doctors performing this operation. It is a result stemming from the fact that doctors from different branches (dermatology, general surgery, otolaryngology, obstetrics, etc.) who have not been successful in their specialized fields and cannot make a living from their main specialties, work as if they were specialist doctors in a scientific field unfamiliar to them, such as plastic surgery, based on the experience they gained from weekend courses.
When it comes to applying all treatment methods used to improve body shape (such as liposuction, bodylifting, tummy tucks, arm lifts, and thigh lifts), only an experienced specialist doctor can find the ideal method for their patient. As I have stated many times before, the biggest deficiency in this regard is the inexperience of non-plastic surgeons in body contouring surgeries.
In my professional life spanning many years, I used to frequently perform body contouring surgeries called "Bodylifting" only on patients who had lost a lot of weight. However, in recent years, I have been using it more to correct disturbing aesthetic body deformations caused by tissue loosening and sagging resulting from often wrong decisions and "liposuctions" performed in incorrect locations.
I have a personal reason for dwelling on the subject of liposuction:
Prof. Dr. Joseph Schrudde, who discovered the liposuction method and presented it for the first time at a congress in Brazil, is my first teacher who played a major role in my plastic surgery education at the University of Cologne. I still remember the sentence my teacher, who passed away at the age of 85, said years after proving the effectiveness of his invention, the "liposuction" method, and after the method had spread all over the world:
"If I had known that such a valuable and useful method would be used haphazardly by so many unqualified people, I would never have published it."
Reducing a layer of fat over a large area by entering through a tiny hole, truly miraculously, is a solution that greatly excites individuals, especially those who are overweight. However, it should not be overlooked that this procedure is also a surgery. Consequently, it should be remembered that a surgical wound that appears small externally will cause tissue damage over a large area beneath the skin.
If performed on the right patient, at the right time, in the right way, and by the right physician, "Liposuction" can achieve results that make the patient very happy. What are these "rights"?
The right patient is one with a normal weight but disproportionate fat distribution in their body, who has not become very fat and then lost weight, who has not given birth, who exercises, has a stable psychological state, and realistic expectations about the surgical outcome.
The right time is when the patient's inner world is calm, or when they consciously and balancedly live with the storms in their inner world. If the patient has established their diet before the surgery and has maintained their ideal weight stably for a long time, then surgery is appropriate. If the patient deforms their body again by gaining weight after surgery, having endured many difficulties, only psychologists, not surgeons, can find the cause and treatment for this.
The right physician is one who can apply all kinds of methods in the treatment of body deformities, and has personal experience with results and complications. These individuals are plastic surgery specialists who have received training in this field worldwide.