Abstract

The traditional suction-assisted lipoplasty, is a well established and commonly performed technique used for the treatment of lipodystrophias, which has undergone improvements with advances in anesthetics, pharmacology and introduction of new instruments. New techniques have appeared, promising advantages in recovery periods, symptomathology and aesthetic results when compared to the traditional suction- assisted lipoplasty. One of these newly introduced techniques is the laser-assisted lipoplasty (laserlipolysis), which claims less pain, less bruising and faster postoperative recovery. No evidence has been published to support these advantages when comparing laser-assisted lipoplasty to the traditional method, specifically when refering to pain, an important symptom to be taken into consideration in the postoperative period. For this reason we designed a prospective, randomized clinical study comprising 60 patients to which the two techniques were applied to different body areas. Pain was assessed using the numeric analog scale at 4 and 48 hours, and at 5 days after surgery. Evidence showed that laserlipolysis results in less pain of the thighs measured at 48 hours and 5 days after surgery. No difference in pain was found between both techniques on the other body areas evaluated (abdomen, trochanteric bulge, lumbar and pectoral areas). Assesing all patients, independent of the technique used, trochanteric bulge at 4 hours was found to be less painful than the abdominal area, and at 5 day evaluation the thighs were less painful than the abdominal area. No relationship was found between pain intensity and lipoaspirated volume.