Tumescent is one method of liposuction.
It has come to stay ever since it was first developed in 1980s by plastic surgeons.
In a strict sense, tumescent liposuction could be considered the precursor of the more modern wet liposuction technique.
It is a surgical process in which your surgeon injects a solution containing a local anesthetic and vasoconstrictor directly into the subcutaneous fat to be removed from your body.
Usually, this vasoconstrictor is epinephrine while the anesthetic is lidocaine, however, unique requirements of each patient may have the surgeon deciding to go along with other choices.
The volume of fluid injected into the body creates a space between the muscle and the fatty tissue that allows for more room into which the cannula is inserted - that is, the suction device that actually removes the excess fat from the body.
Often, a large amount of local anesthetic has to be injected into the tissue to make the procedure a success, which could be potentially harmful; however, absorption by the body spread over 12-36 hours as a result of a vasoconstrive effect allows for systemic toxicity from lidocaine to be a rare occurrence.
Lidocaine.
constricts blood vessels to reduce blood loss and the epinephrine salt fat solution provides room for easier fat removal.
The fluid combination makes the fatty tissue swell up and harden, becoming tumescent and thus making it a lot easier to remove by the cannula.
Currently, tumescent liposuction is one of the more popularly used methods of liposuction you would find out there.
Experience has shown that it may even be safer than any other method of liposuction because the patient will not likely suffer as much blood loss as other methods may offer.
In addition, tumescent liposuction does not necessarily need intravenous fluid replacement after it has been completed, as is the case with more or less all of the other methods.
For the fact, you should know that the large amount of lidoecaine in the fluid allows for the procedure to be carried out under a local anesthetic.
The only disadvantage of this method is that it tends to take a longer time than many of the other procedures that are used in liposuction, usually lasting no less than four hours.
However, severe cases of swelling and pain are not quite as common.
You want to talk to your surgeon about this as a viable option for you, though, before going ahead with it.
There's much you can learn by listening and not just insisting on having your way.