Suction-assisted lipectomy (SAL) for body contouring: infiltration and aspiration ratios revisited

With the current advancement in technology, different forms of techniques for liposuction are introduced. However, suction-assisted lipectomy remains the gold standard. Suction-assisted liposuctions can be performed using dry, wet, super-wet, and tumescent techniques based on the use of infiltration volume. A retrospective analysis was carried out to evaluate the outcome of regional body contouring using suction-assisted lipectomy.

A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of 110 patients who had suction-assisted lipectomy was performed. All patients had their procedure performed by a single surgeon between 2008 and 2009.

A total of 198 areas were identified in nine regions of 110 patients. Of these patients, 33 were males and 77 females. The mean age of the male patients was 38.2 years (range 19–59, SD ± 9.5), whereas the mean age of the female patients was 41.2 years (range 19–68, SD ± 10.4). The mean body mass index of the patients was 28.6 ± 4.9. The areas included the neck (n = 19, inf/asp ratio 1.19), arms (n = 16, inf/asp ratio 0.45), chest (n = 16, inf/asp ratio 0.75), abdomen (n = 29, inf/asp ratio 0.41), inner thigh (n = 20, inf/asp ratio 0.49), outer thigh (n = 30, inf/asp ratio 0.48), knee (n = 12, inf/asp ratio 0.24), hips (n = 34, inf/asp ratio 0.56), and upper back (bra strap area) (n = 22, inf/asp ratio 0.65).

The outcome suggests that body contouring using suction-assisted lipectomy is an effective method when performed using low volume of infiltrate.

Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study