It’s the new L-word on the Hollywood celebrity scene, the secret behind many a star’s quick weight loss. Like rehab and breast implants, the gossip magazines have a field day discussing which celebrity has had it lately. When natural weight loss isn’t fast enough, you can always turn to the tried-and-tested method celebrities love – liposuction.

Also known as lipoplasty, liposuction was the most popular plastic surgery procedure that was performed in 2006, with over 400,000 people going under the knife (or liposuction machine, as the case may be). The procedure is a very well-known one because numerous pop culture icons like singer Britney Spears have had it performed to achieve fantastic feats of quick weight loss. For many people, liposuction still holds a certain amount of glamour because of how commonly the procedure is done in the entertainment industry.

The common view is that liposuction is the ‘easy way out’ for any weight-related problems. After all, what could be easier than just lying down on the operating table and then waking up 24 hours later and 10 pounds lighter? The truth is that liposuction isn’t as simple as Hollywood and the glossy magazines might make it appear. Getting a liposuction can be complicated, difficult, expensive, dangerous or even lethal. That’s why there are several preoperative stages for counseling and preparation that every patient must pass in order to get the procedure done.

This is the first in a week-long, 7-part special that covers the aspects of liposuction in-depth. If you’re looking to get a liposuction done on your body, you owe it to yourself to be informed about everything the procedure entails.