Comparative analysis of blood loss in suction-assisted lipoplasty and third-generation internal ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty.

BACKGROUND

Lipoplasty remains the most common cosmetic surgical procedure performed in the United States. In spite of its well documented clinical advantages, ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty (UAL) accounts for less than 20% of all lipoplasty procedures currently performed.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to determine the blood content of third-generation internal UAL aspirate and compare it to traditional lipoplasty aspirate.

METHODS

The lipoplasty aspirate of 27 consecutive patients who underwent traditional suction-assisted lipoplasty (SAL) of their back and posterior flanks was compared to the aspirate of 30 consecutive patients who underwent third-generation internal UAL of their backs and posterior flanks using the VASER Internal Ultrasound Device (Sound Surgical Technologies; Louisville, CO). The volume and composition of the wetting solution used was the same for both groups. The aspirate analysis was performed by an independent laboratory on a Beckman Coulter LH 750 blood analyzer (Fullerton, CA) and consisted of complete blood counts after separation of the fat.

RESULTS

The hemoglobin content of SAL aspirate was 7.5 times greater than in the aspirate. The hematocrit value of SAL aspirate was 6.5 times greater than in the VASER-assisted lipoplasty aspirate. Statistical analysis using an independent t test confirmed that the data was statistically significant with P values of < .0001 for both hemoglobin content and hematocrit values.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that third-generation internal UAL should be considered for patients undergoing large-volume lipoplasty procedures or lipoplasty of tight, fibrous areas, such as the back and posterior flanks, where increased blood loss is expected.