The SAFELipo liposuction technique is a form of liposuction that involves three steps spelled out in the name: separation, aspiration, and fat equalization. Developed to address the most common liposuction side effects that lead to revision procedures, this method offers the same body contouring and fat reduction of liposuction—but with a faster healing time and less risk of lumpy or uneven results.
The first two steps of SAFELipo, separation and aspiration, are the same as in traditional liposuction procedures. Separation involves “debulking” the fat with a special “exploding-tip” cannula inserted through a small incision. This cannula is heat-free, suction-free, and able to vibrate, which gently loosens the fat cells so they can be easily removed while preserving the surrounding blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissues. The second step, aspiration, is the removal of the loosened fat. Instead of the typical cannulas used to remove fat in traditional liposuction, SAFELipo uses smaller cannulas and gentle suction to remove it, with minimal bleeding or damaging. “This allows for removal of all the targeted fat, and the surgeon doesn’t have to use a lot of manual force, like with other liposuction methods—which is another reason there’s minimal bruising and bleeding with SAFELipo,” says Dr. Simeon Wall Jr., a plastic surgeon in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the developer of the technique, in a RealSelf Q&A.
What really sets SAFELipo apart from other forms of liposuction is the last step of fat equalization. During this step, the light layer of fat remaining beneath the skin is then sculpted and molded, using the same exploding-tip cannula, so that it’s smooth and even and without any of the indentations, puckering, and ripples that sometimes occur after traditional liposuction. Using the cannula, the layer may also be evened out, if necessary, with the emulsified fat collected during the aspiration step. “It allows us to provide a smooth layer of fat, almost like fat grafting, under all the areas treated with liposuction,” says Dr. Nick Slenkovich, a plastic surgeon in Littleton, Colorado, in a RealSelf video. “That allows us—particularly when we’re going for a particularly “skinny” result, where there’s not a lot of distance between the skin and the muscle or the tissues down below—to leave a smooth, even layer of fat.”
SAFELipo is a good option to revise poor results or side effects, like lumpiness, resulting from previous liposuction procedures. And it can be performed anywhere on the body that traditional liposuction is used—such as the face, neck, upper back, arms, legs, knees, and breasts—but it’s especially beneficial for circumferential areas of the body, such as the midsection or thighs, that can be completely circled.
