Liposuction can also be referred to as lipectomy ("suction-assisted fat removal"), liposculpture or lipoplasty ("fat modeling") and is a style of body contouring. To put it another way fat is extracted from various parts of the body to help achieve a certain shape. Liposuction has been used since the 1960's but it is only since the 1990's that it has become popular. Before then the procedures used were not as successful, and the results were mixed. It was during the 1990's that ultrasound was incorporated into the liposuction technique, which made it far less difficult to extract more fat. This was achieved by liquefying the fat first.

It's not only women who employ the services of liposuction surgeons but also men. 20 years ago this was virtually unheard of, but today men are even having the same beauty procedures as women. Men often wish to have specific parts of the body reshaped, for example, male breasts, flanks and abdomen, women commonly want to reshape such such parts of the body as the abdomen, thighs and hips. Whichever place one chooses to have sculptured it would be wise to remember that all cosmetic surgery is not without risks. Sadly there are negative aspects to having liposuction, if an incredible large amount of fat is removed, the area can often be lumpy, or appear to have dents in the skin.

One very important aspect of liposuction, which must not be forgotten, is that it isn't a low-effort alternative to diet and exercise. There are a great deal of contraindications to liposuction and one of them is being severely overweight. A plastic surgeon will frequently refuse to perform liposuction on any patient who is morbidly or severely obese. This is not discriminatory, but purely a medical decision made in consideration of the proven facts. People who suffer from obesity are nearly always rather unfit and unhealthy, both of which nullify their eligibility for the treatment. There are also risks with anesthesia if folk are overweight. The best candidates for liposuction are those folk who are in rather good shape and healthy, and who are not smokers.

Liposuction is performed either; using local anesthesia, local anesthesia with sedation, or general anesthesia. At the start of the procedure the surgeon will carefully cut into the skin at the sites where the offending fat is to be extracted. Generally the fat is extracted using an aspirator (a hollow tube and a suction device) and a cannula Throughout the surgery, several factors are taken into consideration that can have an effect upon the amount of fat that can safely be removed. The safety issues are not only relate to the amount of fat removed, but also to the overall health of the person being operated on, and the choice of anesthesia used.