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What is the Tumescent Technique for Liposuction

RSS feed icon Published On 6 August 2007

In an earlier article, we have discussed what liposuction is, and how it is done. Nowadays, there is a new technique that is being used in liposuction. This method is called the tumescent technique.

The technique gets its name from the way the areas being targeted for liposuction swell up or ‘tumesce’ when they are injected with a large amount of anesthetic fluid pre-liposuction.

How the Tumescent Technique Works

  • In brief, this is how the tumescent technique works. Before the liposuction, the areas to be worked on are identified. A large amount of anesthetic fluid, which is a combination of lidocaine, epinephrine, as well as intravenous fluid, is then injected into these areas, as mentioned above. Once this is done, the fatty areas swell up, thereby allowing the liposuction cannula to move smoothly under the skin as the process is conducted and the fat removed.

    Advantages of the Tumescent Technique

    One of the primary advantages of the tumescent technique is that it involves minimal blood loss. This reduces the chances of a transfusion being required after the operation to a minimum.

    Another advantage that the tumescent technique offers over traditional liposuction techniques is reduced bruising. Since there are not too many incisions to be made in this technique, the bruising and the swelling is also reduced to a minimum.

    The usage of large amounts of anesthetic fluid helps reduce the pain as well. The patient does not feel pain after the operation, as many patients are administered a general anesthetic along with the anesthetic injected into the fat layers. For some patients, the anesthetic injection might be combined with a sedative to ease the pain and discomfort during and after the procedure.

    The anesthetic injection causes the fatty areas to swell up, thereby allowing the cannula to move freely under the skin during the procedure. This smoothness is another reason why there is minimal discomfort and bruising post operation. This is the fourth advantage of adopting the tumescent technique.

    Risks Associated with the Tumescent Technique

    There are no major risks separately identified for the tumescent technique, so there is no reason to be extra cautious when thinking about this method as a liposuction option. The same risks that are identified for the traditional liposuction procedure exist for this procedure as well.

    However, depending on the condition of the patient, there may be a couple of specific risks identified with the tumescent technique. The two primary risks are pulmonary edema, a condition that can arise due to excess deposition of fluid in the lungs, and lidocaine toxicity, a form of poisoning that can happen due to high levels of lidocaine in the anesthetic solution. However, these situations are not all too common. A competent surgeon can take care to ensure that neither of them happens on his watch.

    Who can Opt for the Tumescent Technique?

    Technically speaking, anyone who can opt for the traditional method can opt for the tumescent method as well. However, the tumescent technique works better when targeted at those body parts that require higher level of precision than the others, such as the face, the calves, the ankles, the arms, and also the neck.

    Otherwise, people who have excess fat to be removed can also opt for this procedure.

     

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