Many surgeons recur to tumescent anesthesia. This provides them with an advantage later when performing the fat melting and its posterior extraction (suction). The tumescent swells the fat cells, facilitating the intervention.
With years of experience performing surgery, New York City’ Liposuction experts get exceptional Tumescent liposuction results to satisfy each patient’s desire for a better body.
Some liposuction techniques target fat cells and make them easier to extract by disrupting their structure (Laser Liposuction such as SmartLipo or Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction), while these techniques are widely popular for slimming contours, they are not suited for fat transfers.
What is the Tumescent Solution?
The tumescent method has emerged as the gold standard method in liposuction. Before liposuction begins the treatment areas of the patient are injected with a special numbing solution. This tumescent solution is dilute that is composed of large amounts of saline mixed with a small concentration of lidocaine and even a much smaller portion of epinephrine.
There is no official or standard formula for the tumescent solution. The levels of lidocaine and epinephrine depend on the areas to be treated and the clinical situation. The epinephrine part in the solution induces vasoconstriction allowing liposuction to be done with virtually no blood loss.
The solution is injected into the subcutaneous fat so that it becomes ‘tumescent’ i.e. swollen and firm, making it easier to remove by suction with the cannulas. It is administered warm and not cold and after 20 to 30 minutes the injected area is ready for liposuction.
Differences between tumescent and laser-assisted liposuction
Tumescent Liposuction
Minimally invasive harvesting methods, such as tumescent liposuction – help maintain fat cell integrity.
Laser-Assisted Liposuction
Fat melting techniques such as (SmartLipo) can damage the fat cells, making them not suitable for re-injection.
Smartlipo uses a laser to melt and destroy fat cells. The fat cells are so damaged that they should not be used to transfer to the buttocks because the cells will not survive the transfer. Tumescent traditional liposuction is almost always used with a Brazilian Butt Lift because this technique does not laser or heat up and melt the fat cells. The fat cells are not damaged by traditional liposuction and the “take” of the fat cell is much better.
Combining The Tumescent Solution with Awake Liposuction
Tumescent liposuction is, by far, the safest method of liposuction available today. Nevertheless, many physicians still take patients to the operating room to do procedures on under general anesthesia. Most of the time, this is simply because that physician was not adequately trained in the tumescent technique and does not know how to make the procedure comfortable for the awake patient. Dr. Joffrey was trained in this technique by the inventor himself and utilizes it all types of liposuction including laser liposuction and WaterLipo®.
Patients who choose to have awake liposuction with tumescent technique can expect much less pain and discomfort than with traditional liposuction methods and far less bruising and minimal recovery time. This is due to the effectiveness of the tumescent solution in reducing pain, bleeding, and swelling. The downtime is typically less than 24 hours.
If you are interested in a safe, effective way to rid yourself of annoying “love handles” or other fatty areas, contact us to schedule a consultation today.