New Generation Liposuction

Every body type has areas that are likely to store fat, and even with a strict diet and regular exercise, those unsightly bulges often persist. More people are rushing to cosmetic clinics to get in shape with well-proportioned contours in today's world when increasing one's aesthetic quotient has become a top priority.

Liposuction has been one of the most popular and often done cosmetic procedures for many years, and with good reason.

Liposuction is a surgical procedure that removes fat and refines the body's contours safely, effectively, and permanently. However, since its introduction in the cosmetic sector, this method has seen a sea of change in order to adapt to the needs of people and generate desired outcomes.^{1, 2}

With traditional liposuction, the surgeon creates a small incision in the skin and down to the deep fat layer. The fat is initially injected with a numbing liquid solution. Next, the surgeon inserts a cannula or probe into the fat, breaking it apart while sucking it out.³

Despite its much advancement, traditional liposuction has a number of drawbacks, including postoperative edema and ecchymoses, surgeon fatigue, limited efficiency in more fibrous areas, and difficulty avoiding surface contour abnormalities.²

Unlike traditional tumescent liposuction (TL), various new liposuction methods are now available, making it less painful, safer, easier to recover, and more effective. These innovations include ultrasound-assisted (UAL), power-assisted, and laser-assisted liposuction, and Vaser Liposuction is one of these techniques offered.

Vaser Liposuction

A new generation of UAL called VASER-assisted liposuction refers to a type of liposuction that breaks apart fat cells and loosens and melts them from the deeper tissues so that fat can more effectively be removed during the treatment.^{3, 4}

The third-generation UAL system has been in use for almost a decade for the safe and efficient removal of adipose tissue.⁵

VASER: Vibration Amplification of Sound Energy at Resonance: ⁴

• Uses powerful waves to disrupt the bonds between fat cells
• Considered a more controlled and gentle kind of cosmetic procedure
• Makes less painful recovery and faster healing

VAL is an internal ultrasonic device that incorporates significant design improvements from previous generations using small-diameter, solid, multi-ringed probes (rather than a hollow cannula) to transmit power at only the required levels for targeting and disrupting fatty tissues. By working in a pulsed mode and at a frequency of 36 kHz, VAL is able to achieve good results at low power levels.⁵

How does VASER liposuction work?

VASER liposuction can target the arms, chest, chin and neck, upper back, waistline and stomach, hips and thighs and buttocks.

An ultrasonic generator is used to convert electrical energy to vibration, which causes repetitive expansion and passive contraction of adipocytes, resulting in rupture of their cellular membrane and liquefaction of fat.²

Procedure for VASER liposuction

During VASER liposuction, the person is likely to be put under spinal or general anesthesia or a form of anesthesia called conscious sedation. In the targeted location, a saline solution or tumescent fluid combined with anesthesia will be injected. Then, ultrasonic probes will be placed into the skin using a small incision to break up the fatty tissue. The fatty tissue will break down gradually, and a cannula will be used to suction out the fatty tissue as well as the majority of the fluid through the same port. The liquefied fat is then aspirated out with minimum harm to the surrounding tissues. Some anesthetic will be left in the tissues, which should alleviate any postoperative discomforts. ⁴

Benefits of the VASER liposuction^{2, 4}

• More precisely, removing fat
• Less blood loss and operative time
• reduce local trauma
• Less ecchymosis and discomfort
• Improved contouring in areas with an abundance of fibrous tissue, such as the back and chest
• Quicker recovery time
• increasing skin contraction
• preserving surrounding nerves

UAL may also reduce surgeon fatigue, as it liquefies the fat before it's sucked out. This may provide better results for people undergoing the procedure.

Conclusion:

While liposuction technologies have significantly advanced over the last generation, UAL is a preferred method of surgical fat reduction by plastic surgeons.  A new generation of UAL called VASER assisted liposuction uses a device that may improve skin contouring and reduce the chance of skin injuries.

References:

1. Shridharani SM, Broyles JM, Matarasso A. Liposuction devices: technology update. Med Devices (Auckl). 2014 Jul 21;7:241-51
2. Mann MW, Palm MD, Sengelmann RD. New advances in liposuction technology. Semin Cutan Med Surg. 2008 Mar;27(1):72-82.
3. Liposuction, https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/liposuction/about/pac-20384586, last accessed on Sept 24, 2021
4. Everything You Want to Know About VASER Liposuction, https://www.healthline.com/health/cosmetic-surgery/vaser-liposuction, last accessed on Sept 24, 2021
5. Schafer ME, Hicok KC, Mills DC, Cohen SR, Chao JJ. Acute adipocyte viability after third-generation ultrasound-assisted liposuction. Aesthet Surg J. 2013 Jul;33(5):698-704.