Safer, Faster Results with Tumescent Liposuction

FEMALE VOICE 2: To learn about a faster, safer form of liposuction, performed right here in the valley. FEMALE VOICE 3: I've been trying to drive this off for two years, and it's simple, just so easy. FEMALE VOICE 2: We'll show you how this former Playboy bunny slimmed down without ever closing her eyes. New tonight, an in depth look at a type of liposuction that promises to be safer with a faster recovery time. What's more, the patient is awake during surgery. And some women tell 12 News, losing inches of fat was easier than they ever imagined. FEMALE VOICE 4: Really, I'm actually pleasantly surprised how simple it was. I liked the thought of being awake during the surgery, and not being put under. I lost four and a half inches across my hips and my lower abdomen. FEMALE VOICE 3: Kelly Dyer [phonetic] is about to try what other women are talking about. At 64, she wants to look more like the Playboy bunny she used to be. FEMALE VOICE 4: - - DR. EMILIO JUSTO: She's a perfect candidate because when you grasped her, you can really feel the softness, the fluctuance (phonetic) of the fat. FEMALE VOICE 3: As a full-time nurse, she is so confident about the surgery that she'll talk with me while it's under way. - - gained a lot of weight. FEMALE VOICE 4: I used to be as small as you, and I - - FEMALE VOICE 3: Dr. Emilio Justo performs tumescent liposuction. DR. EMILIO JUSTO: We're going to feel just a little bug bites. FEMALE VOICE 3: The first step, numbing Kelly's abdomen. FEMALE VOICE 5: - - is all that is actually going to go inside of her skin. DR. EMILIO JUSTO: This area is going to be tumesced, meaning that it's going to be ballooned up with this local anesthetic. FEMALE VOICE 3: Tumescent liposuction takes a few hours longer than other types of liposuction. Because the patient is awake the whole time, Dr. Justo says the results will be better. Why is tumescent liposuction superior to regular liposuction? DR. EMILIO JUSTO: We don't have to worry about post-operative nausea, whether they're not feeling well, whether they can't eat right away. FEMALE VOICE 3: What about patient recovery time? How much quicker is it with tumescent liposuction? DR. EMILIO JUSTO: Their recovery should be practically immediate. They will have some drainage for the first few days, but as far as exercise, there's no limitations. It's whatever the patient feels that they can handle. FEMALE VOICE 3: Dr. Justo is one of only a handful of valley cosmetic surgeons who prefer local anesthesia. DR. EMILIO JUSTO: It would be exceedingly rare to have a serious - - complication because she is awake and talking and communicating. FEMALE VOICE 3: And even joking around with the doctor. DR. EMILIO JUSTO: Oh, there's a pepperoni coming out of here. FEMALE VOICE 4: That's no pepperoni. DR. EMILIO JUSTO: Oh, that's right. You're a vegetarian. Okay, there's a carrot stick coming out of here. FEMALE VOICE 4: - - FEMALE VOICE 3: - - DR. EMILIO JUSTO: It's actually fairly yellow. I mean, your fat looks really nice. FEMALE VOICE 3: Two hours later, it's gone. FEMALE VOICE 4: - - at all. I felt some pricks, but not even as bad as a massage. DR. EMILIO JUSTO: The skin, which is - - and it starts healing, it will start retracting. The next step is that we're going to give her all - - up in garments [phonetic]. FEMALE VOICE 4: I feel good. I don't even—I really felt good. FEMALE VOICE 3: Good enough to walk out the door. FEMALE VOICE 4: I have absolutely no pain. I just cannot believe it. FEMALE VOICE 3: Kelly had the surgery done just over a week ago, and here is how she looked before liposuction, and that's how she looks now. MALE VOICE 2: Wow. FEMALE VOICE 3: Pretty big difference. MALE VOICE 2: No one has ever - - that looks good. [crosstalk] FEMALE VOICE 3: Yeah, and you know, she went to work the very next day. MALE VOICE 3: Wow, not sore at all. FEMALE VOICE 3: I talked to her tonight. She feels great. MALE VOICE 3: Good deal, good deal.