Milan Phadnis, 168 kg, tried dieting, exercises and even visits to weight loss clinics. Finally, Phadnis, 46, opted for liposuction, a cosmetic surgery procedure to remove excess fat from the body. Last week, a record 8.5 litres of fat were removed from his body. Phadnis, now 145 kg, hopes to lose another 45 kg at least.

With junk and fatty foods eating into our daily lives, more and more Calcuttans are eyeing liposuction as a means of shedding weight. Liposuction is emerging as a popular cosmetic surgery procedure, by which localised fat deposits can be removed from the neck, abdomen, hip, arms and chin. In this procedure, a small incision, about 3-4 mm, is made and a canula is used to draw out the fat from the body into a jar.

Experts say liposuction has a lasting effect, since the fat cells are also permanently removed. A single operation, which costs around Rs 30,000, takes about two to three hours, depending on the volume of fat removed.

“The fat deposits can be removed from any body part, but the balance between food intake versus output of calories has to be maintained,” says specialist Manoj Agarwal of the Cosmetic Surgery Clinic on Loudon Street.

The rising demand has prompted private hospital major Apollo Gleneagles Hospital to set up a specialised liposuction unit at its hi-tech centre. “The requests have been pouring in, so we decided to bring in the latest liposuction machine here. The power-assisted liposuction is the first of its kind to be introduced in eastern India,” says Aniruddha Bose, cosmetic surgeon and consultant at Apollo Gleneagles.