Is scar-free cosmetic surgery too good to be true? FEMAIL puts MicroLipo to the test

• MicroLipo uses cannulas just a millimetre thick cliaming to leave no scars
• Multiple entry points, instead of the usual one, achieve ‘finesse’
• Femail writer tried procedure to tackle inner thigh rub

A pioneering, minimally-invasive fat reduction procedure promises to leave you sculpted and slim – with no scarring.

Microcannula tumescent liposuction – dubbed MicroLipo – is performed under local anaesthetic using tiny steel tubes which can measure less than a millimetre.

The size of the wound left means any scars will fade until they are almost invisible.

MicroLipo involves a diluted local anaesthesia being injected into areas, and then removing fat with tiny tubes.

Cannula sizes range from 0.9mm to 3mm, much smaller than those used for traditional – and Vaser – liposuction. Their small size makes them particularly good for targeting smaller body areas such as bingo wings, chin, inner thighs, flanks, abdomen and chest.

One of the latest bodyshaping treatments, MicroLipo removes unwanted fat and sculpts targeted areas of the body to provide for better definition, and can remove up to 3.5 litres of fat in total.

Traditional liposuction, with larger cannulas, removes fat relatively quickly, which increases the risk of irregularities and depressions in the skin. The use of microcannulas, on the other hand, allows smoother and more uniform results.

MicroLipo is the brainchild of US-based Dr. Jeffrey Klein. There is currently just one surgeon qualified to perform the operation in Europe, Dr Gupta of The Private Clinic on Harley Street, London. He has performed well over 1,500 MicroLipo procedures in his time.

FEMAIL put MicroLipo to the test:

There’s a problem area on many women’s bodies that nobody talks about. It’s not unsightly, not bumpy, not lumpy – and not visible.

But the painful friction caused by rubbing inner thighs is the bane of many women’s lives – mine included. The affliction has burdened me ever since I can remember.

Even as a size eight teenager, my slight knock-knees and upper inner thigh fat meant I suffered painful rubbing and, until now, I chose to accept that as my lifelong fate. No matter how much I exercised or dieted, the hot, raw thigh rub would not cease.

I spent summers in clear tights and jeans when all I wanted was to go bare-legged or wear shorts. I even discovered Charnos no-toes tights which allowed me to wear sandals. I own countless pairs and wore them religiously all summer.

But last week, for the first time ever, I allowed myself a day in a dress with bare legs. And, while my thighs grazed very slightly, there was no friction. I was pain and carefree all day. I couldn’t stop smiling – and I still can’t now.

The idea of being battered and bruised on an operating table terrifies me, so it was the words ‘no scars’ and ‘minimally invasive’ that sold me on MicroLipo.

After my initial consultation with Dr Gupta, he said he could take a litre of fat out of each leg. This figure seemed high to me, so I asked him to take less if he could, and to focus on just the chubby bit at the top.

He stressed that to achieve a finessed and natural look, the whole upper inner thigh would need sculpting – from knee to groin. I accepted his expert opinion.

On the day of the procedure I was given several sedative pills and taken into the operating room where my legs were marked with a blue pen.

Dr Gupta injected each thigh with a lot of local anaesthetic solution making them swell and firm. This helps separate the fat cells from the other surrounding tissue and minimises blood loss.

Fat removal then commenced via about ten entry points on each leg. I could feel something in my leg, but no pain. It was strange, but not as strange as I thought it would be. He removed up to 800ml of fat from each thigh. Four hours after I entered the building, wrapped in dressings and trussed up in post-operative garments, I was in a cab on my way home.

I had taken the week off and went to my mother’s the next morning. I was close to immobile for this time and hobbled for the next couple of weeks after that – so I will say you can’t go straight back to work. Also, I was in post-operative garments and dressings meaning I couldn’t wear normal clothes.

During the recovery time, my thighs looked irregular. They were bruised, hard and lumpy and I worried about the final result. Dr Gupta recommended special post-lipo lymphatic massage and two sessions worked wonders in speeding up recovery.

While downtime was more intense and longer than I imagined, it’s now been six weeks and the swelling is almost completely gone. I can hardly see any marks or evidence I ever had anything done and my thighs are almost even and totally soft and smooth.

The benefits of Dr Gupta’s insistence on working from knee to groin are evident to me now. My leg shape is a lot straighter and, more importantly, it all looks entirely natural.

At just 23, some might say I am too young to make the decision to under the knife. But to me, all it means is that I get to live more of my life in comfort.

‘The benefits of Dr Gupta’s insistance to work from knee to groin are hugely evident to me now. My leg shape is a lot straighter and, more importantly, entirely natural.

As long as the patient is fit and well then there is no reason why someone who is in their twenties cannot recover from the procedure just as quickly as a person in their forties or fifties,’ says Dr Gupta.

Explaining my mild discomfort at times, Dr Gupta continues: ‘A patient who is slightly older may find the procedure and recovery process slightly easier as their skin is likely to be slightly slacker and looser. However this is not always the case; every patient is different.’

The price of MicroLipo on the inner thigh isn’t as terrifying as one might think. It all depends on the amount of fat and areas requiring treatment. The cost of the procedure I went for is just at the beginning of the threshold – much less than I would have assumed.

Since deciding to go ahead with the operation I have spoken more openly about the affliction I found awkward for so long. I am only a size 10 to 12 and painful chafing was, in my mind, reserved for heavier frames. But to my surprise – and relief – many shared my concerns.

I recently went for a massage and told my therapist about my operation. She, a size 10 herself, had suffered painful inner thigh chafing her whole life – she calls it ‘nappy rash’.

The big, warm hug she gave me after I wrote down my surgeon’s number for her told me that we need to talk about this more. There are things we can do to improve the situation, be it rocking 90s revival flouro cycling shorts under our dresses, no-toes tights – or even a spot of MicroLipo.

This article was originally published here.

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