Glossary of Terms

The condition of having sensation (including the feeling of pain) blocked or temporarily taken away. This allows patients to undergo surgery and other procedures without the distress and pain they would otherwise experience.

This is water liposuction that originated out of Germany.  The machine sprays the tumescent fluid at a high force and various pulse frequency to wash the fat off of the subcutaneous support structures. Very large volumes of anesthetic fluid are utilized with this procedure. The large amount of anesthetic fluids that are used with the procedure may effect the quality of the fat suctioned.  If desired for transfer the large amounts of fluid may effect the viability of the fat.

A tube that can be inserted into the body, often for the delivery of anesthetic fluid or for the removal of  fatty fluid.

This is the garment that should be purchased prior to undergoing the procedure. The garment is used to minimize the swelling that happens post-procedure. Typically, we have you order it and have it shipped directly to our office. This garment is put on immediately after the procedure has ended. We ask that you wear it the for the first week, 24 hours a day. This is the period of time when post-operative swelling is the most severe. After the first week, you should than wear the garment 12 hours a day for another 1-2 weeks. The garment may be removed to take a shower, but not to be removed when using the bathroom.

Gynecomastia is the abnormal development of large mammary glands in males resulting in breast enlargement. The condition can occur physiologically in neonates (due to female hormones from the mother), in adolescence, and in the elderly (Both in adolescence and elderly it is an abnormal condition associated with disease or metabolic disorders). The causes of common gynecomastia remain uncertain, although it has generally been attributed to an imbalance of sex hormones or the tissue responsiveness to them; a root cause is rarely determined for individual cases. The condition may also be caused due to an imbalance of estrogenic and androgenic effects on the breast, resulting in an increased or unopposed estrogen action on breast tissue.

A cosmetic surgery operation that removes fat from many different sites on the human body. Areas affected can range from the abdomen, thighs, buttocks, to the neck, backs of the arms and elsewhere.

One of many types of office-based laser liposuction platforms. SmartLipo was the first laser to be released into the US marketplace for liposuction. Its history is as a hair removal laser, the 1064nm wavelength that is in the SmartLipo, is specific for hair. SmartLipo than added the 1320nm wavelength to boost its power and go head-to-head with its competitors. This combination wavelength product is callled MPX.

Means to swell or make swollen. Tumescent anesthesia is the type of anesthesia that is used for office-based liposuction. The tissues that are to be worked, removed of their fat content, are made swollen with the tumescent anesthesia.

The type of anesthesia used for office-based liposuction. The anesthetic fluid is usually a combination of normal saline to which is added lidocaine, epinephrine and sodium bicarbonate. The common name for this solution is Klein's Solution, after Dr. Jeffrey Klein, who was the first to describe the effectiveness of this solution for anesthetic purposes back in the early 1980's.

One type of office-based liposuction. It is Ultrasound Liposuction due to the high frequency vibrations that are emitted by the instrument. The VASER is a very effective for melting fat, since it runs so hot. The problem is that this same heat can contribute to the possibility of burns in the subcutaneous space or at the skin edges. The fat that comes from the VASER is not very viable fat and therefore is a poor candidate for optimum fat transfer.