Liposuction is a procedure called by many different names. That makes a lot of sense considering it’s one of the most if not the most commonly performed cosmetic procedures in the United States today. You may know it as liposuction, liposculpture, ultrasonic liposuction, lipoplasty, laser liposuction, lipectomy, tumescent liposuction, or just plain fat removal. “But wait, what was that last one…” you’re thinking to yourself, “…before fat removal?” You’re wondering what tumescent liposuction is.
Tumescent liposuction involves a technique were the liposuction procedure can be done under local anesthesia while a patient is actually awake and overall decreases all the cause for concern commonly associated with liposuction such as hospital stays, general anesthesia complications and lengthy recovery times. The tumescent liposuction technique uses large volumes of very dilute solutions of local anesthesia that is gently injected into subcutaneous fat.
The originator of this particular technique is Dr. Jeffrey Klein, who came up with the idea in the mid 1980’s after attending a liposuction course where only general anesthesia was used. His discovery changed the way many think about liposuction in terms of safety and recoveries, making the procedure itself seem much less intimidating. If you were considering liposuction but had reservations due to the traditional liposuction concerns, tumescent lipo may be just the thing.
