Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction (UAL) is one of the modes of liposuction that uses ultra sonic rays (the sound waves inaudible to human ears) to burn the fat in the target area under the skin. The USP of the Ultrasonic Assisted Liposuction is the precise targeting of fat, which keeps the accompanying nerves, muscles and blood vessels undamaged. Thus, compared to many other liposuction technologies, UAL is considered safer.

Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction – Procedure

The procedure for UAL is not dissimilar to most other liposuction procedures. The first step is to anesthetize the target area by injecting tumescent fluid, which is a combination of salt water solution, a local anesthetic and epinephrine. This mixture not just acts as local anesthesia, but also prevents excess fluid loss during the procedure; thus, making it easier to remove the fat. Then, a cannula is inserted beneath the skin of the target area, and the ultrasonic waves produced by a generator are sent through this cannula. As the cannula touches the fat deposits, the ultrasonic waves immediately liquefy the fat cells. The liquefied fat is then suctioned out with the help of vacuum.

Benefits

Apart from the removal of excess fat from the target area, UAL can also be used to tighten the skin. Usually, after tumescent liposuction, UAL is used, as it is more precise and also helps in fine tuning the sagging skin.

UAL is also an improvement over many other traditional liposuction techniques in that it can target even difficult areas that have large volumes of fat deposits, as the sound waves can liquefy great amounts of fat in one session.

Risks

Since UAL has the capacity to target greater volume of fat, a great amount of heat is also generated within the body, which increases the risks of burning and scarring of the peripheral tissues and muscles.

Apart from the chances of burns, there is another medical risk by the emergence of a condition, known as “seroma”, which is characterized by the production of fluid to fill the void created by the removal of fat from the target area. The surgeon must continuously remove this fluid during the procedure with the assistance of fluid till the cavity is fully closed.

Target Areas

Although there is no restriction on the target areas, UAL is specifically employed where high precision level is required. Some of the popular target areas for UAL include chin, male breast tissue, stomach, neck and mid-section. Additionally, UAL is also recommended where the target area requires contouring because it was treated earlier with some other liposuction technique.

External Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction

Apart from internal UAL, there is also external UAL technique, which delivers the ultrasonic waves to the fat via a paddle shaped instrument, which is applied directly on the overlying skin. However, this form of UAL is used less frequently, as the procedure runs the risk of burning the skin.

As the name suggests, wet liposuction refers to the liposuction technique that uses injection containing fluids, like anesthesia (epinephrine) and adrenaline. The blood loss is minimized by the use of adrenaline. Besides, adrenaline also promotes quick recovery time. The solution itself breaks down the fat cells and fatty tissue.

Once the saline solution containing the fluids fills the treatment area, a small incision is made through which the cannula is inserted, which further breaks down the fatty tissue, and also helps in suctioning it out.  The solution also results in constriction of blood vessels resulting in restriction on the flow of blood in that area; thus, preventing excess blood loss, which was rampant in case of dry liposuction. Less blood loss means minimal bruising and swelling.

In case the area to be treated is large, more than one incision can also be made simultaneously.

The recovery time in case of wet liposuction depends on how large the area that was treated with this technique. However, generally, the patients recover much quicker than the dry liposuction patients.

What is Super Wet Liposuction?

Super wet liposuction is not dissimilar to the wet liposuction in terms of procedure. The only difference is the amount of anesthesia used in the saline solution. Considerably lesser amount of anesthesia is used in super wet liposuction technique resulting in less numbness of the area to be treated. No swelling is caused by the solution used in this technique. Moreover bruising and bleeding is also less than the wet liposuction technique.

The recovery time for super wet liposuction is also lesser compared to other traditional liposuction techniques.

Who is the Best Candidate for Wet and Super Wet Liposuction?

Individuals who are slightly overweight, and have a particular area on the body that refuses to respond positively to diet control and exercising, are perfect candidates for fat reduction through wet and super wet liposuction techniques. Post-surgery period for anyone who has undergone wet or super wet liposuction is extremely crucial, as you may be restricted in terms of diet and exercise. However, since the fat reduction is not too great, you won’t take too long to get back to your routine, but with a healthy diet.

Risks Involved in Wet and Super Wet Liposuction

The fluids generated by wet and super wet liposuction need to be removed immediately, otherwise they may get stored in the heart or lungs (medically, this condition is known as ‘drowning’). If the fluids are not drained out completely and quickly, they may result in infections, bloated face, scarring, deadening of nerves, or embolism. In case you are allergic to any of the fluids used in the injection, it’s advisable to inform the doctor before the procedure.

Undoubtedly, wet and super wet liposuction procedures are invasive (although minimally), and all invasive procedures carry some amount of risk. But all the dangers and fears should be banished once you’ve found a cosmetic surgeon with good track record and expertise to ably manage the pre- and post-operative patient care.

Usually, Cool Lipo is deployed for removal of excess fat from the chin, neck, jowls and under the arms, as the traditional liposuction procedures may find it difficult to access such areas for fat removal.

How Does it Work?

A hand-held laser fibered cannulus is used by a certified physician to directly target the fatty deposits under the skin of the target area, which is already numbed using local anesthesia. The excess fatty tissues get dissolved and liquefied by the heat generated by the laser energy. This fat is then naturally excreted out of the body through bladder and bowel movements

The use of laser energy shrinks the skin tissue on the target area, which in turn stimulates collagen production. The entire process not just removes the stubborn and inaccessible fat from the conspicuous body parts, but also tightens and tones the skin.

Cool Lipo vs. Smart Lipo

Apparently, both Cool Lipo and Smart Lipo seem identical, but there are subtle differences between the two. For instance, Smart Lipo is performed using a dual-platform laser (30-watt, 1,064-nm wavelength) that separates the functions for fat removal and skin tightening; while Cool Lipo system uses a single laser (1,320 nm wavelength) to separate fat cells and tighten the skin.

Besides, there may be difference in the prices charged by different medical facilities for these liposuction techniques.

Is Cool Lipo a Painful Procedure?

Once the target area is numbed using local anesthesia, you will hardly experience any sensation or pain while the doctors perform the procedure. However, be prepared to experience the injection pain from the anesthesia. After the procedure, some soreness, bruising and swelling may be experienced for a couple of days, but these can be treated using Over-The-Counter available medications.

How Long the Cool Lipo Procedure Lasts?

The duration of the procedure depends on the amount of area that is to be treated with laser energy. Greater the area, more the time needed for Cool Lipo procedure! However, usually, the doctors take 1-3 hours to complete the procedure.

Who is An Ideal Candidate for Cool Lipo Procedure?

Your doctor will decide if you are an ideal candidate for Cool Lipo, depending upon your age, history of illnesses, whether you are on any medication, your overall general health, diet ad family history.

Tumescent Liposuction derives its name from the word ‘tumescent’, which means swollen and firm. Thus, tumescent liposuction can be understood as a procedure to remove fat from the target area after making it swollen and firm by the administration of a fluid that combines local anesthetic (usually, diluted lidocaine) and a medicine, which shrinks the capillaries (usually, epinephrine), to the target area.

Procedure of Tumescent Liposuction

The procedure starts by identifying the area in the body that carries excess fat that has refused to go even after the patient underwent diet control and strict exercise regimen. Then, a large volume of tumescent fluid is injected into the target area in order to make it swell and firm. This technique discounts the need to administer general anesthesia or the IV sedation for local anesthesia.

Apart from achieving strong local anesthesia, the drug epinephrine also ensures a very high degree of vasoconstriction, which prevents blood loss during the procedure. An incision is then made through which a cannula, attached to a vacuum is inserted into the target area. This vacuum is used to create tunnels through the fatty layer and the excess fat is then sucked out.

What are the Benefits?

1. Since numbing of the target area is achieved by a special tumescent fluid, it prevents the possible side effects that general and local anesthesia may entail.

2. The tumescent fluid also includes a drug that constricts the blood vessels around the target area. This results in negligible loss of blood during the procedure. The patient does not experience too much post-operative swelling around the treated area, which speeds up the recovery time.

3. The fat is removed from the target area in a minimally invasive manner, which also contributes to lessening the patient’s recovery time, which is usually not more than 48 hours.

4. Since the patient is awake during the procedure, the surgeon can feel the muscle tone along the targeted fat layer. This helps the surgeon to remove additional fat layer with precision, which is not the case in other techniques where the surgeon acts conservatively in fat removal from a heavily sedated patient.

5. Tumescent liposuction is an ideal second procedure in patients who have already undergone another procedure to loosen the fat, since it can remove the leftover fat with minimum patient discomfort and short recovery time.

6. Tumescent liposuction causes minimum trauma to the patients as the suction tubes used in the procedure are very thin. The sutures heal quickly without causing any significant scarring.

7. It is widely believed that the use of antibacterial lidocaine to prepare tumescent fluid tends to reduce the chances of infection.

The Ideal Candidate

As stated above, tumescent liposuction is ideal for almost every body part. You can explore the procedure further with the surgeon if you have extra fat in your neck, abdomen, buttocks, arms, hips, thighs, les, men’s love handles (flanks), and male breasts.

Tumescent liposuction is ideal for slightly overweight (10-20 lbs.), but healthy and active, individual.

Post-operative Care for TL Patients

There is no special care required post-surgery. However, you must eat a well-balanced diet, which is low in fat content but high in essential nutrients. In order to speed up the recovery process, follow the instructions of your surgeon, since he/she may prescribe some precautions for a few days, if your health so requires.

There are no traditional bandages post-surgery, but the surgeon may prescribe some specially designed compression undergarments to help the skin contract.

Recovery Period

Normally, recovery time from tumescent liposuction does not exceed 48 hours. However, it may take more days if the area to be treated is more. You may consult the surgeon for having multiple sessions if there are more areas that require liposuction.

Sometimes, it may happen that you may recover quickly to perform your routine functions, but some activities may still be prohibited for some more days. For noticing the best results from tumescent liposuction, compare your “before” pictures with “after” pictures after 30 days from the procedure. I’m sure you will notice the results immediately.

Cost of Tumescent Liposuction

We wrote about the liposuction prices already, but the cost of tumescent liposuction generally varies between USD 2,000-10,000 depending upon a number of factors, like:

• Site
• Number of sites
• Size of the site(s)
• Special circumstances surrounding the patient that may require price revision

Generally, the physicians charge for consultation (initial and post-surgery), facility use, follow-up visits, special compression garments, tumescent fluid (anesthetic and the drug), pre- and post-operative clinical tests. However, if you and the surgeon agree upon add-on ultrasonic- or laser-assisted liposuction, the cost increases significantly.