Determinants of patient satisfaction with ultrasound-assisted liposuction

Description of a Novel Web-Based Liposuction System to Estimate Fat Volume and Distribution

BACKGROUND

Pre-operative planning for liposuction is vital to ensure safe practice and patient satisfaction. However, current standards of fat assessment before surgery are guided by subjective methods such as visual inspection, skin-pinch tests, and waist circumference measurements.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to develop an inexpensive software-based tool that utilizes ultrasound (US) imaging and an online platform to accurately simulate regional subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) distribution and safe volume estimation for liposuction procedures.

METHODS

The authors present a web-based platform with integrated two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) simulations of SAT to support liposuction planning and execution. SAT-Map was constructed using multiple sub-applications linked with the python framework programming language (Wilmington, DE).

RESULTS

The SAT-Map interface provides an intuitive and fluid means of generating patient-specific models and volumetric data. To further accommodate this, an operational manual was prepared to achieve consistent visualization and examination of estimated SAT content. The system currently supports static 2D heatmap simulation and 3D interactive virtual modelling of the SAT distribution. Supplementary clinical studies are needed to evaluate SAT-Map's clinical performance and practicality.

CONCLUSIONS

SAT-Map revolutionizes the concept of pre-operative planning for liposuction by developing the first combined web-based software that objectively simulates fat distribution and measures safe liposuction volume. Our software approach presents a cost-efficient, accessible, and user-friendly system offering multiple advantages over current SAT assessment modalities. The immediacy of clinically accurate 3D virtual simulation provides objective support to surgeons towards improving patient conversation, outcomes, and satisfaction in liposuction procedures.

Jejunal perforation after abdominal liposuction, bilateral breast augmentation and facial fat grafting

A 54-year-old woman presented to the emergency department 24 h after undergoing abdominal liposuction, bilateral breast augmentation and facial fat grafting at a private plastic surgery clinic. She presented with the classic evolution of a bowel perforation secondary to abdominal liposuction. A computed tomography (CT) scan found free air in her abdominal cavity. Based on the CT scan and the persistent pain experienced by the patient, an abdominal laparatomy was urgently performed. A jejunum perforation was found and was treated with a resection of the affected segment followed by intestinal anastomosis. The patient had a successful recovery and was discharged seven days later. The present article also reviews the classical presentation of a bowel perforation following abdominal liposuction.