As a patient considering liposuction, there are four different types of procedures you should be aware of, and discuss with your plastic surgeon prior to scheduling your surgery. Each of the various techniques is performed a bit differently and as a patient you should know a bit about each option and understand which type of liposuction your plastic surgeon will be performing on your body.

Fluid Injection Liposuction

Fluid injection is a technique where a medicated solution is injected into the fatty areas before the fat is removed. The medicated solution is generally made up of saline solution, a local anesthetic, and a medication which is used to contract blood vessels in the area.

Fluid injection helps your plastic surgeon remove the fatty deposits much easier, and at the same time provides you with the added benefit of pain reduction and less blood loss. In addition, the injection of fluid works to lessen the bruising you will experience post-procedure.

Tumescent Liposuction

The word "tumescence" describes a swollen and firm state of fatty tissues when they have been filled with a medical solution. With tumescent liposuction, a general anesthetic is generally used which is in a solution injected into the fatty deposits which will be removed.

While this technique generally takes longer for a plastic surgeon to perform, the injection fluid generally contains the entire amount of anesthetic you will need as a patient. This means that you will not need to take any further anesthetic risk for the procedure.

Ultrasonic Assisted Liposuction

There are two variations of ultrasonic assisted liposuction (UAL) performed today. They are external UAL and internal UAL.

With external UAL, ultrasonic vibrations are applied above the surface of your skin. The ultrasonic waves pass through the areas of fat to be removed and cause it to turn to liquid. Once the area has been liquefied, traditional techniques are used to remove it.

With internal UAL a special cannula is used and the ultrasonic energy is applied inside of the body directly on the fat tissue to be removed. UAL allows for more precision than traditional methods and generally is a longer procedure for your plastic surgeon to perform.

Super Wet Liposuction Technique

The super wet technique is similar to that of the tumescent method in that fluid is injected into the areas where fat will be removed.

However, the super wet technique uses less fluid and generally the amount of fluid that is introduced is the same as the amount of fat which will be removed. The super wet technique generally requires general anesthesia and takes over an hour to perform.