Traditional Liposuction vs. TriSculpt

Christopher Chung, M.D.
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Chief Medical Officer
Sono Bello

What is Liposuction?

Liposuction is a surgical procedure that removes undesired subcutaneous fat. Through time, liposuction has undergone much advancement, mostly aimed at improving not only the amount of fat that can be removed but with increased safety. Let us compare traditional liposuction with Sono Bello’s Tri-Sculpt procedure which illustrates many of the advancements made in the field of aesthetic body contouring.

Liposuction, as with nearly all surgical procedures, requires anesthesia and equipment. Needless to say, anesthesia, while at times dangerous, is required in order to conduct surgery. While some surgical procedures require minimal equipment and supplies, others, like liposuction, require equipment that is more adept at allowing surgeons to deliver the best possible surgical outcome. In other words, for liposuction, equipment matters.

Comparing Traditional Liposuction with TriSculpt

In comparing traditional liposuction with Sono Bello’s Tri-Sculpt, one can see the highlighted advancements in the field of liposuction. Rather than relying on the surgeon’s own muscle power, Tri-Sculpt incorporates the technological advancements in power-assisted equipment and laser to better extract fat with less effort, and hence, less trauma. Less trauma then begets less postoperative discomfort and swelling. The laser also promotes enhanced skin contraction.  In regards to anesthesia, many patients are rightfully concerned about the effects. Heavy (general or deep IV sedation) anesthesia is a major physiologic stressor to the body. While some form of anesthesia is often necessary, safety can be improved by minimizing anesthesia to the least degree necessary to conduct surgery in comfort. With Tri-Sculpt, only minimal oral sedation is used to provide comfort with less physiologic insult. Most of the “anesthesia” relies on using a tumescent solution technique. Saltwater IV fluid containing lidocaine (a numbing agent) with epinephrine (hemostatic agent to minimize bleeding) is used in safe amounts.

Graphically speaking, please consider:

In conclusion, while both traditional liposuction and TriSculpt are designed to remove fat, embedded differences highlighting technical and technological advancements are abundant. Simply put, if you had to run a mile on a track, would you rather run in a pair of work boots or running shoes? Yes, you can run in either shoes, but no doubt, running shoes are better, as Tri-Sculpt is over traditional liposuction.

Video Transcript

Mike Garrison, President, Sono Bello: Dr. Chung can you tell us a little bit about the difference between the TriSculpt procedure that Sono bello offers and a more traditional liposuction procedure?

Dr. Chris Chung, Chief Medical Officer, Sono Bello:

Yes of course. At Sono Bello we offer what is known as a TriSculpt liposuction and TriSculpt refers to our advanced three-step process that we employ for all patients. The step number one is the tumescent component and tumescent really is the gold standard for liposuction. And the tumescent refers to the infiltration of the fluid of the soft fluid that anesthetizes and also minimizes any bleeding. The second component is our power assisted liposuction component, and this is utilizing our power unit, which emulsifies the fat to allow for an easier extraction of fat. And thirdly is our laser component and that’s obviously where we’re bringing the latest advancements and the laser component helps emulsify the fat and also promote skin tightening. This is in contrast to more of the traditional liposuction which really is, in the simplified form a metal cannula hooked up to a suction machine which then simply sucks out the fat, so obviously, differences are very vast.

Mike Garrison, President, Sono Bello: Are there any differences in downtime between traditional liposuction and TriSculpt.

Dr. Chris Chung, Chief Medical Officer, Sono Bello:

Yes, that’s a great question Mike and that refers to the fact that we offer a minimally invasive micro laser liposuction. And what we mean by minimally invasive is really the trauma to the body, because as you can imagine the more trauma or stress we inflict upon the body, the greater the recovery period. And then quite frankly the safety as well.