The first patents for internal ultrasonic liposuction, also known as ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL), were issued in 1987. Shortly afterwards, subsequent to the development of external applications, the method was divided into two different types. Internal ultrasonic liposuction breaks up fat by using a vibrating cannula, while External does it by applying a vibrator to the outside skin surface just before beginning the liposuction procedure.
“Ultrasonic” means sound that is pitched extremely high. In ultrasonic liposuction, this sound is used to assist surgery of the traditional, super-wet, or tumescent methods. Ultrasound has many other uses besides surgical ones: for examples, take the very popular ultrasonic toothbrushes, or the widespread “laser” surgery for cataracts of the eye. The underlying principle of ultrasound is to loosen something – in the case of the toothbrushes, to loosen tartar on the teeth; in the case of laser eye surgery, to loosen and break up the cataract so that it can be quickly and easily removed.
In the case of ultrasonic liposuction, a distinctive kind of liposuction procedure, excess fat is loosened and liquefied so it can more easily be suctioned from the body with greater ease and speed than it might with other methods alone. The industry is presently using the “third generation” of internal ultrasonic equipment. There were concerns with the safety of first- and second-generation equipment, and many patients were injured with the method. The instrumentation for internal ultrasonic liposuction is extremely expensive, and these costs must, of course, be passed along to patients by the surgeons who purchase the equipment.
