Liposuction

1. Understanding Your Goals

• Your priorities: The consultation starts with what you would like to change, what matters most to you and what you hope surgery will achieve.

2. Clinical Assessment

• Clinical assessment: Dr Mercer assesses anatomy, tissue quality, asymmetry, scars and any factors that may affect the operation or healing.

3. Options, Limits & Planning

• Options and limits: Suitable surgical options, likely scars, trade-offs and realistic outcomes are discussed rather than assuming that surgery is the right answer.
• Planning: If you choose to proceed, clinical photography, measurements and a personalised operative plan are completed before a surgery date is confirmed.

2–4 weeks before

• Weight stability: Avoid crash dieting; liposuction is best planned at a stable weight.
• Nicotine: Stop nicotine as advised.
• Medication: Complete medication, supplement and clot-risk review.

Before surgery

• Compression garment: Obtain the recommended postoperative garment.
• Transport: Arrange a responsible adult to take you home and stay initially if required.

Anaesthesia

• Anaesthesia: Small areas may sometimes be treated with local anaesthesia and sedation; larger or multiple areas are commonly treated under general anaesthesia.

Contouring

• Fluid infiltration: Tumescent fluid is introduced to help control bleeding and facilitate fat removal.
• Cannula treatment: Fat is removed through small incisions using controlled passes.
• Balance: Both sides and adjacent zones are repeatedly assessed for proportion and smooth transitions.
• Compression: A garment is fitted after surgery to support the treated tissues.

Days 1–7

• Expected: Bruising, swelling, soreness and fluid leakage from small access sites can occur early on.

Weeks 2–3

• Work: Many patients return to non-physical work while continuing compression.

Weeks 4–6

• Exercise: More vigorous exercise is gradually resumed.

3–6 months

• Final contour: Residual swelling reduces progressively and the contour becomes more defined.

First 2 weeks

• Compression: Wear your garment for the period advised; bruising and swelling are expected.
• Walking: Walk regularly from the first day but avoid strenuous activity.

Weeks 3–6

• Activity: Resume exercise gradually while swelling continues to settle.
• Massage: Manual lymphatic drainage may be advised selectively, but it is not mandatory for every patient.

Early review

• What happens: The team checks wounds, swelling, comfort and any dressings during the first postoperative period.

1–2 weeks

• What happens: Incisions and early healing are reviewed; sutures or dressings are removed when appropriate and activity guidance is updated.

6 weeks

• What happens: Dr Mercer reviews recovery, scars and return to exercise, and checks that healing is progressing as expected.

3–6 months

• What happens: Progress photographs may be taken as swelling settles and scars continue to mature.

Around 1 year

• What happens: A longer-term review can be used to assess the mature result once tissues and scars have fully settled.