Liposuction Assisted Lipoma Removal – Option or Alternative?

BACKGROUND Lipomas are the most frequent soft -tissue tumors arising from adipose tissue. Traditionally, open surgery is a mainstay of their treatment. Recently, new treatment modalities emerge in order to decrease morbidity, to increase satisfaction rate in patents, but not to raise recurrence risk at the same time. AIM The aim of this article is to present our experience with liposuction assisted lipoma removal in terms of efficacy, complications, risk of recurrence and patient satisfaction. METHODS The study was prospective in which treated lipomas with vacuum suction were analyzed. Preoperative diagnosis comprised clinical exam and additional diagnostic tools as to rule out malignancy. Subcutaneous lipomas with diameter of at least 5 cm were taken into account. Tumescent liposuction technique with modification was used. RESULTS Lipoma's size, distribution and demographics are given. Total removal with affordable rate of complication was achieved in each case. No recurrences in 12 months follow-up period were seen. Satisfaction rate in patients was high. CONCLUSION Liposuction assisted lipoma removal is a good alternative to open approach lipectomy and we would recommend its use in selected cases where, it might be more advantageous. However, prospective randomized controlled studies are needed in order to estimate its accurate clinical value.