1 Anaesthesia: General anaesthesia, local anaesthesia and intravenous (IV) sedation are some of the medications that may be administered to make the patient comfortable.

2 Incision: Once the patient is ready, one or more small incisions will be made in the target areas.

3 Fluid injection: For wet, super-wet and tumescent liposuction, the doctor will infuse a sterile solution to ease the removal of fat and to prevent excess trauma and bleeding. The patient may also be hooked up to an IV line to prevent excessive fluid loss.

4 Fat removal: The doctor will use a cannula (hollow tube) and an aspirator (suction device) to remove the desired amount of subcutaneous fat. The length of the procedure will vary with the amount of fat being removed.

5 Recovery: The doctor puts in stitches to close the wounds and the patient will be advised not to engage in any strenuous physical activity for the next few weeks at least. The patient will probably experience bruising, soreness and swelling.

This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times on May 7, 2008.