How Liposuction Is Performed

Through a tiny incision a narrow tube, or cannula, is inserted and used to vacuum the layer of fat that lies deep beneath the skin. The cannula is pushed and pulled back and forth through the fat layer, breaking up the fat cells and suctioning them out. If many sites are being treated, your surgeon will then move on to the next area, working to keep the incisions as inconspicuous as possible.

Fluid is lost along with the fat, and it's crucial that this fluid be replaced during the procedure to prevent shock. For this reason, Toronto liposuction patients need to be carefully monitored and receive intravenous fluids during and immediately after surgery. The basic technique of liposuction, as just described, is used in all patients undergoing this procedure. However, as the procedure has been developed and refined, several variations have been introduced.

Fluid Injection

Fluid Injection involves injecting a medicated solution into fatty areas before the fat is removed. The fluid – a mixture of intravenous salt solution, lidocaine (a local anesthetic) and epinephrine (a drug that contracts blood vessels) – allows the fat to be removed more easily, reduces blood loss and provides anesthesia during and after surgery. Fluid injection also helps to reduce the amount of bruising after surgery.

The amount of fluid that is injected varies depending on the individual needs of each Toronto, Ontario liposuction patient and the specific area being treated.

Tumescent Technique

Large volumes of fluid – sometimes as much as three times the amount of fat to be removed – are injected in the tumescent technique. Tumescent liposuction, typically performed on patients who need only a local anesthetic, usually takes significantly longer than traditional liposuction (sometimes as long as 4 to 5 hours). However, because the injected fluid contains an adequate amount of anesthetic, additional anesthesia may not be necessary. The name of this technique refers to the swollen and firm or "tumesced" state of the fatty tissues when they are filled with solution.

Super-Wet Technique

The super-wet technique is similar to the tumescent technique, except that lesser amounts of fluid are used. Usually the amount of fluid injected is equal to the amount of fat to be removed. This technique often requires IV sedation or general anesthesia and typically takes one to two hours of surgery time.

Power Assisted Liposuction

Power Assisted Liposuction (PAL) is one of the newest liposuction techniques available and Dr. Lista was one of the first surgeons in Canada to use this method. In this technique a power source is used to rapidly oscillate the liposuction cannula 3 or 4 millimeters at a frequency of several hundred cycles per second. This allows the fat to be removed with less force, thus decreasing trauma to the patient. The fat is removed more quickly, more evenly and with less bleeding. This means that patients have less bruising and can recover more quickly following surgery.