Lili Cordell
Ultrasonic liposuction, also referred to as UAL, is beneficial for patients seeking revision work following a tumescent liposuction, or for patients who desire to improve the shape of difficult to operate areas like the ankles, knees, calves and face. The procedure, risks and costs associated with it differ from its tumescent counterpart.
The Ultrasonic Liposuction Procedure
A local anesthesia is administered in most cases. To avoid the risk of fluid draining from the face, the surgeon will inject tumescent fluid into the area being operated. This injection is the same used in the tumescent surgery: it contains a combination of epinephrine, lidocaine, and other fluids. It also simplifies the fatty tissue removal process later in the liposuction surgery.
Small incisions that are about 2/3 of an inch in length are made in the treated area. The surgeon then inserts a cannula into the wound. The cannula serves two purposes in the ultrasonic procedure. One, it acts as a vacuum to suck out the fatty tissue, similar to the tumescent procedure. Two, it is connected to a generator that produces ultrasonic sound waves and transmits them into the fat deposits. After the fatty tissue has been dissolved by the heat, the vacuum sucks out the fluid. The process is quick and easy due to the consistency of the tissue; it is now in liquid form. The surgeon then closes the incisions with sutures. Scarring is usually barely visible, and the cuts heal quickly.
Risks of Liposuction
Burns
Burns and blisters can be caused by too much heat passing under the skin. They can be painful and difficult to treat because of their location. Further scarring occurs as a result, and too much heat can also lead to nerve damage. However, this can be avoided, provided the surgeon performing the operation is experienced.
Seroma
Another risk one takes with ultrasonic liposuction is seroma. Seroma is a condition where deposits of serous fluid appear under the skin following plastic surgery. It is the body’s natural response to the sudden lack of fat in the operated area. This can also be avoided if the surgeon continuously removes the fluid with a syringe during the procedure. The omission of this step will result in the patient having to make repeated visits to the doctor to drain the fluid.
Shock
While the drainage of excess fluid is important, a patient can go into shock if too much fluid is removed during the procedure. The surgeon must know and maintain the correct proportions of fluid drainage to the amount of fatty tissue being removed if he/she is to avoid this danger.
Liposuction Costs
Insurance
Because it is not considered by most insurance companies to be an obligatory procedure, rarely is the cost of plastic surgery assumed by a patient’s insurance plan. The amounts mentioned below are deduced by average procedural fees, but they do not include the additional costs such as liposuction before and after care, medication, hospital and facility fees, and laboratory work.
Approximate Cost
Ultrasonic liposuction is one of the more expensive types of plastic surgery, simply because of its expert technology and popularity. A patient can expect to pay within a wide range of prices for the procedure, anywhere from $3,000 to 10,000. These amounts are highly variable; they are dependant on several different factors.
The size of the patient and the amount of fat to be removed dictate the level of difficulty and the time length of the procedure, which can attribute to a lower or higher cost implemented by the surgeon. Also, the body region on which the operation is to take place plays a large role in determining the cost; some areas of the body are more difficult to operate than others.
Finally, the level of experience and location of the plastic surgeon attribute to the cost of liposuction. A hospital surgeon in the city will be considerably more expensive than a surgeon in the suburbs performing the surgery in his/her suite.
[page updated December 2008]