What is tumescent

You probably have noticed if you have watched videos of the actual surgery of liposuction that prior to performing liposuction the surgeon injects a fluid in the belly or any anatomical area.

So, what is this fluid? This fluid is called tumescent. Tumescent is a mixture of saline, which is essentially water, combined with lidocaine and epinephrine. When performing liposuction, it is well known that if no fluid is injected in the surgical site, you will be sucking and removing not just the fat but also blood.

In the early days, when liposuction was performed without the tumescent technique, it led to multiple complications including excessive bleeding which required transfusion. Through time, plastic surgeons were able to figure out different ways of minimizing risks and complications.

One of the most effective, which could be performed under local anesthesia while minimizing blood loss is by using tumescent with epinephrine. Epinephrine is a vasoconstrictor. Essentially, when we inject these into the tissue, the tissues engorge and the vessels that are within the tissue vasoconstrict, meaning, they collapse. Thus, when we perform liposuction, only the fat and minimal blood is extracted during the procedure. In addition, lidocaine that is added to the fluid is used to control the amount of general anesthetic that is provided during the surgery. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic and numbs the targeted area. The less stimulation while you are under general anesthesia, the less general anesthesia is needed during the procedure itself. Using tumescent is standard care these days It is essential for any surgeon performing this type of procedure to employ tumescent anesthetic prior to the liposuction itself.