Liposuction or Lipoplasty is one of the most common plastic cosmetic surgery procedures worldwide. But did you know that there are different types in terms of the devices and process being used?
1. Classic Tumescent Liposuction - involves only the use of specially prepared cocktail of "tumescent fluid" (saline, local anesthetic, blood vessel constricting agent) that is used to infiltrate the targeted fat (to loosen and anesthesize) then later on suctioned using blunt liposuction cannulas.
2. Power-Assisted Liposuction or PAL (Tickle Lipo, Micro-Aire) - uses the same "tumescent fluid" as a pre-suctioning preparation followed by the use of specially designed vibrating cannulas which breaks the fats while being suctioned. This machine allows more removal of fats with less bleeding and bruising.
3. Ultrasonic-Assisted Liposuction or UAL (Vaser) - involves 3 steps:
a. Tumescent fluid infiltration
b. Insertion through a small incision of a special thin stick-like probe connected to an ultrasonic machine. This process transmits the ultrasonic energy to the tip of the probe and to the fat resulting to its dissolution (melting).
c. Liposuction proper of the dissolved (melted) fats using common cannulas.
4. Laser-Assisted Liposuction (Smart Lipo) - this requires the same steps with UAL except for the second step where a thin laser fiber is inserted to the fat being targeted to initially deliver the burst of light energy to liquefy fats. The next steps are the same.
Prices of liposuction will vary depending on the special device you choose and the number of areas you want to be treated.