Tumescent Liposuction Standard Of Care
Posted On: August 30, 2013 Author: The Office of Dr. Stuart Linder Posted In: Liposuction
Tumescent liposuction after the last 10 years still remains the standard of care. Tumescent liposuction is associated with the infiltration of tumescent fluid into the localized fat deposit areas that will be aspirated with a small cannula ranging between 2 and 4 mm in size. The tumescent fluid can vary from surgeon to surgeon. In my practice I prefer using 1 liter of normal saline, 1:1000 epinephrine and 40 cc of 1% plain Lidocaine. This is per each liter of fluid injected into the body. The American Board of Plastic Surgery recommends no more than 5 liters infiltrated into the body at one time. In my practice I like to stay below 3 liters. This helps to reduce electrolyte imbalance and fluid hydration shifts which our anesthesiologist greatly appreciates. For larger lipo patients we prefer to stage the operation after several months. The aspirate removed from liposuctioned fluid should be approximately 95% fat and less than 5% serous fluid and blood.
Our patients present for liposculpture every week with the combination procedures including breast augmentation, breast revision, breast lifts and tummy tuck procedures. Liposuctioning can be performed safely using blunt tip cannulas. In my practice I used triple lumen Mercedes blunt tip cannulas, which help to reduce trauma to the skin and inadvertent perforation of the skin. I use between 2.4 and 3.0 mm cannulas on the majority of our patients and stay within the localized deep fat deposits in order to reduce contour irregularities and skin contour defects. Patients should be carefully screened as candidates for liposuction, determining the localized fat deposits and skin tonicity to ensure that the results will be excellent and there will not be excess skin or skin contour deformities.
Tumescent liposuction has remained and should remain, for many years to come, the standard of care with the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgery for liposuctioning throughout the body.