What is the Wet Liposuction Technique?

Liposuction has come a long way in the past 20 years. While
liposuction has been around for decades, at one time it was actually quite
risky. Every version of liposuction required general anesthetic which made the
procedures inherently more risky. General anesthesia puts the patient to sleep,
and while general anesthesia is safe, when conducted by an experienced
anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist, it makes the procedure much more risky
than it is when conducted under local anesthesia which merely numbs the area
being treated. We have talked about dry liposuction, where a liposuction
surgeon conducted liposuction without injecting any solution into the fat prior
to removing the fat via suction. Another technique from years ago was called
the wet liposuction technique.

The wet liposuction technique was a precursor to the
current, popular and safe technique called tumescent liposuction.  When a patient underwent the wet liposuction
technique, they did need to be put under general anesthesia, no matter which
area was being treated or how much liposuction the patient was having. A
solution was injected into the fat of the liposuction patient, and it did
contain a solution that restricted the capillaries and therefore reduced the
bleeding of the patient. Despite the use of this solution, patients still
suffered from significant blood loss, which was one of the most significant
problems with the dry liposuction technique.

Doctors conducted an analysis of the wet liposuction technique to see how much fat, blood and solution was removed from beneath the
skin.  When using wet liposuction, 15-20%
of the tissue removed from the patient was actually the patient’s blood. This
amount of blood loss was still substantially risky to the patient and would
sometimes require a blood transfusion. While the wet liposuction technique is
safer than the dry technique, it is still considered to be risky because of the
blood loss and the use of general anesthesia. The wet liposuction technique is
not the same as tumescent liposuction.

When you are conducting research into liposuction, make sure
you understand the procedure and the technique that your liposuction doctor is
planning to use. By understanding the technologies, the risks and the benefits
of the newer technologies, you will be far more likely to select the right doctor
and to mitigate your risks. You’ll also be far more likely to get the body
contouring and the results that you really want.