Tumescent liposuction: A review

Abstract

Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure to remove fat. Liposuction may be performed either under general anaesthesia or under local anaesthesia. The procedure has been reported to be associated with significant morbidity and risk of mortality under general anaesthesia. Since the first description by Jeffrey Klein, dermatologic surgeons have made significant contributions in this field, and tumescent liposuction using microcannuale under local anaesthesia, is regarded as safe and effective. The author has performed over 200 liposuctions in the last four years in India and this article describes the procedure of microcannular tumescent liposuction in the light of her experience.

A review of techniques and procedures for lipoma treatment

“…Diet and exercise decrease the size of fat cells; however, the number of fat cells does not decrease, as illustrated in Figure 1B. These new fat cells are referred to as "resistant fat" (2). Abnormal growth may occur within normal functioning adipose tissue, producing lipomatous tumors.…”

“…This process may be performed under "dry" or "wet" conditions, and the patient is typically under general anesthesia. The larger cannulae and larger incisions makes this technique very fast and effective, however, this method requires hospitalization due to the general anesthesia and typically results in more significant scarring (2).…”

“…The saline balloons fat tissue, epinephrine causes vasoconstriction, and lignocaine induces local anesthesia. A microcannula, typically 1.5-3 mm in diameter, is introduced to aspirate adipose tissue (2,9). Since the tumescent technique is one of the only liposuction methods that only requires local anesthesia, the procedure does not require hospital admission and is associated with a rapid postoperative recovery time.…”

“…Liposuction allows surgeons to make incisions at specific locations to maximize cosmetic outcomes. During a typical liposuction operation, several small about 1 cm, incisions are made at strategic locations surrounding the target area (2). In wet liposuction, fluid is infused in order to loosen adipose tissue and reduce bleeding.…”

“…Dry liposuction describes the removal of fat without injecting fluid to the surgical field (8). A smaller cannula 1 mm, is first used to create tunnels in the fat (2). Cannulae of gradually increasing diameter are then employed to aspirate fat.…”