What is Airsculpt Lipo?

Advocates of Airsculpt suggest that the small vibrating cannula breaks up the individual fat cells far more gently, with minimal shearing before liposuction occurs.  They contend that this results in less trauma to the tissue despite the final common pathway being liposuction of the fat.

Another purported benefit of AirSculpt technology is that the fat cells remain viable for fat transfer. It’s most commonly performed in combination with other plastic surgery procedures, such as Brazilian butt lift, breast fat transfer, facial fat transfer, hand fat transfer, calf fat transfer or any other similar procedure.  Tumescent liposuction can be said to do the same.

AirSculpt liposuction can performed on a variety of body areas, including the hips, abdomen, love handles, arms, and back, as well as under the chin.  The procedure is typically performed under local anesthesia with oral sedation.   The advocates of this technology believe that the friction from the cannula creates heat that triggers a healing response, leading to new collagen production and firmer skin in the treated area.  This may be overstated as the friction from traditional liposuction would cause the same.

Advocates cite minimal downtime though the healing should take the same amount of time.   The AirSculpt cannula entry point is about 2 mm in diameter and does result in a scar – so it is certainly not a scarless procedure.
As with other fat removal procedures, potential risks include bruising, swelling, infection, bleeding, irregularity, inadequate resection.  Some have complained of lumps, asymmetry, and minimal change.  Some patients don’t see skin tightening results, which is not surprising.

Realself says that providers now offer AirSculpt+, which includes Renuvion for skin tightening, which indicates the less than optimal skin tightening results of the original technology.

The truth is that outstanding results in liposuction are achieved by a plastic surgeon who is able to liposuction in a perfectly uniform fashion.  The reason for lumps, bumps, and dents after liposuction has much to do with uneven flaps, though patient compliance and fluid collection can occasionally result in less than optimal results as well.

Dr. Kenneth Hughes uses tumescent liposuction in all cases so that patients are not injured by the energy containing forms of liposuction like vaser or laser liposuction.  Many of these technologies will destroy the fat cells as well and will render the fat unusable for fat transfers like the Brazilian buttlift.