BLOOD-LOSS DURING SUCTION-ASSISTED LIPECTOMY WITH LARGE VOLUMES OF DILUTE ADRENALINE

The amount of blood lost during liposuction with the ''dry'' or classi c ''wet'' techniques has been a cause for concern. In the present stud y 26 consecutive patients who underwent syringe-assisted liposuction w ith the ''superwet'' or ''tumescent'' technique had their blood loss r ecorded prospectively. The mean (SD) volume aspirated was 2448 (1368) ml and the mean (SD) drop in haemoglobin concentration was 11 (7) g/l. The haemoglobin concentration was measured in both the fluid and the fat fraction of the aspirate, and the mean (SD) amount of whale blood was 16.5 (9.3) ml/litre of aspirate. The present study shows that bloo d loss is considerably reduced when the ''super-wet'' or ''tumescent'' technique is used, compared with the reported amount lost by authors who used the ''dry'' or classic ''wet'' techniques.