Comparison of power water-assisted and traditional liposuction: A prospective randomized trial of postoperative pain

Background: Postoperative pain has always been underestimated by the majority of plastic surgeons. A prospective randomized trial compared power water-assisted liposuction with the traditional tumescent technique. Methods: All patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30 and excessive localized pathologic fat were recruited. Exclusion criteria specified a BMI greater than 30 or redundant anelastic skin. Patients were randomly assigned to power water-assisted or traditional liposuction. Results: From September 2005 to December 2005, 60 patients were recruited and analyzed. For the study, 28 patients were randomized to traditional liposuction and 32 to power water-assisted liposuction. A significant difference in postoperative pain was observed (p < 0.05). After 4 days, 87% of the patients who underwent power water-assisted liposuction were completely pain free, as compared with 3.6% of those treated with traditional liposuction. Furthermore, ecchymosis was significantly less for the patients who underwent power-assisted liposuction (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The study findings demonstrate that power water-assisted liposuction is an almost painless procedure that produces less tissue trauma than traditional liposuction.