In experienced hands, liposuction is a safe and effective fat-removal treatment. It can be used to reduce stubborn deposits in the arms, neck, chin, thighs, and buttocks, to reshape you.

Dr Michael Rich has been at the forefront of the industry locally, and more broadly in Australia, being one of the first to perform this procedure over 30 years ago. Dr Rich was trained by Dr Jeffrey Klein, the founder of the safe tumescent technique.

Dr Rich often chairs forums as the ‘go-to’ person at national and international conferences, being highly regarded as one of Australia’s best.

Dr Rich performs all fat-removal at our Melbourne clinic but also practices in Sydney regularly.

Where we can do liposuction

Thighs, hips, back, legs, knees, elbows, neck, chin and buttocks (though buttocks are treated much less than you might think – the buttocks are better bigger!)

Breast reductions – liposuction breast reductions are a less-invasive alternative compared with a surgical breast reduction, for some women

“If you can pinch it, you can lipo it” – Dr Rich

Dr Rich offers high-quality contouring

The tumescent treatment technique – the gold standard in liposuction

The tumescent technique is now widely regarded as the gold standard. Fatty deposit removal and reshaping in days gone by had a very problematic reputation, with lumpy, bumpy, inconsistent results, a lot of bleeding and bruising, and sometimes even death. Not a single death has been recorded with the tumescent technique, and every surgeon in Australia is using some variation of this technique.

‘Tumescent’ liposuction means the area is filled with an anaesthetic mixture which also acts to quell bleeding from the blood vessels broken during the procedure. This solution results in less bleeding, which naturally results in less bruising (because a bruise is trapped blood), and shorter recovery time.

The anaesthetic applied locally also negates the need for general anaesthetic, which reduces risks. The tumescent technique offers smooth, replicable results. The technique is so named because the word ‘tumescent’ actually means ‘swollen’, and when the area is full of the tumescent liquid, it becomes fuller – looking and feeling swollen – so the surgeon can better see and feel what they are doing.

Ultimately, the tumescent liposuction technique offers relatively quick recovery times, reduced risks, and consistently smoother results.

We only perform the tumescent technique at ENRICH Clinic.

Things to know about lipo lingo

When some clinics advertise how much ‘better’ their procedures are compared to ‘traditional’ liposuction, they are referring to the old-fashioned variety, not the newer techniques that every surgeon worth their mettle is or should be using (and has been using for some time).

No clinics offer ‘traditional’ liposuction in Australia anymore, rest assured, so when you see claims like ‘Much better results than traditional liposuction’ it’s like saying ‘Our new car is so much better and faster than a traditional horse and cart’. It doesn’t mean anything.

Fatty deposit removal using suction is now considered a low-risk, effective cosmetic treatment that – with a great surgeon – has consistent and outstanding results no matter which method is being used. There are a handful of liposuction techniques, and they all have methods that are just a variation on the same tumescent technique that Dr Rich uses.

‘Non-surgical liposuction’ – it’s not a thing

Anyone claiming to perform ‘non-surgical liposuction’ of any kind is being untruthful. Liposuction is a surgery, and every surgery by its very nature is invasive – there is simply no such thing as non-surgical varieties of liposuction.

Anything that punctures and penetrates the skin is considered by law to be invasive. Liposuction is literally suctioning away adipose tissue, and to get to these cells, you must break the skin and penetrate it – this is what we call surgery. Liposuction is now ‘minimally invasive’, but again, this is standard procedure in Australia.

There are other methods for fatty deposit reduction or removal that aren’t surgical, but they are not considered in any way to be liposuction. Examples are fat freezing or dissolving injections. Whilst less invasive, these techniques are not as effective and are usually used to remove small pads in small areas.

Your surgeon is ‘the thing’

Choosing the right method of body sculpting for you is important, but the really critical difference in outcomes is your surgeon. A surgeon who is the master of his or her tools, with an eye for beauty, will give you the best results.

Aiming for the cheapest liposuction option will get you a surgeon who values his or her skills less, which is not desirable when it comes to lasting shaping. You cannot undo liposuction, there is no Ctrl-Z; there is just more surgery to fix up the last which quickly gets disappointing and expensive.

Putting on weight after lipo

There are a few myths floating around the internet that are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how adipose tissue behaves in the human body. The rumour is that ‘you will just put on weight somewhere else after lipo’, which is partly true and partly false.

If you put on weight after liposuction, which is generally within your control, without the number of fat cells in the area you had treated, the energy must be stored elsewhere. Thus, you put weight on in another area than you might usually, as well as the place you would usually – there are still adipose cells left there. Taking them all would make you look very peculiar indeed.

The reason for this is that once you hit puberty, you have all the fat cells you will ever have, and they simply expand and shrink depending on how much energy (fatty acids) they are storing. Your adipose tissue cells are like bags of coins – you spend some money, the bag goes down; you save some money, the bags get bigger. One cell does not mean one ‘bit’ of fat; a cell is a storage facility.

Choose your liposuction surgeon wisely, and there will be just the right amount left in the area so you get beautiful, smooth results, but you can naturally lose and gain weight and still keep your new shape.

Contact us to arrange a consultation with Dr Rich at our clinic to discuss how liposuction can improve your shape.

*Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

*Results may vary from person to person