In the quest to find safer, faster, and more effective ways to perform liposuction, Andrew Technologies, LLC, stepped up to the body contouring plate with the HydraSolve Lipoplasty System at last year's annual meeting of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). This year, the company is taking their novel technology one step further with the recent announcement of receiving FDA 510 (k) clearance for autologous fat transfer for HydraSolve, notably the first such device to receive this clearance.
Originally launched as AquaLase by Alcon in 2003 for cataract surgery, this FDA-cleared system doesn’t cut fat tissue with traditional cannulas—it liquifies it, reports the company, easing the patient recovery process as well as the amount of force and effort required by the surgeon during the liposuction procedure. This process also makes the removed fat ideal for use in autologous fat transfer for same-patient rejuvenation/augmentation.
Here’s how it works: A low-pressure saline stream inside a special round-tipped cannula effectively targets and liquifies the fat without cutting or causing damage to blood vessels or other connective tissues. Turing the fat to a liquid state is effectively achieved by cell disaggregation rather than by the cutting cell membranes. Cleaner, less traumatized fat means the opportunity for better fat transfer results.
The HydraSolve system first received FDA clearance in 2010 for liposuction. Last year Andrew Technologies reported clinical research in more than 50 case studies with board-certified plastic surgeons across the US including Dr. Richard D’Amico and past president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and Dr. Christopher Godek, President of the NJ Society of Plastic Surgery, both of whom were quoted as being supporters of this technology.
“It is clearly more efficient and my opinion is that it is less traumatic and may result in less blood loss for a given amount of lipoaspirate,” Dr. D’Amico said in the news release. According to another early proponent, Dr. David Abramson, New York, “With the first patient I treated, on her first post-op visit I had to actively search for some bruising and almost didn’t find any.”
Their proprietary Tissue Liquefaction Technology (TLT) and specially designed cannula was a natural extension of device benefits, accord to the company. HydraSolve co-inventor and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Mark S. Andrew, believes that the system’s benefits are attractive to both patients and physicians. In the news release announcing this new approval he said, "We are extremely pleased to take a leading role in providing technology for autologous fat grafting that we believe can improve the process for the surgeon and the outcome for the patient."
Originally Published May 15, 2013