title: Report from the conference on ultrasound-assisted liposuction safety and effects.
abstract: The authors report on the Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction (UAL) Safety and Effects conference held in St. Louis, Missouri, in November 1998. The meeting was convened to discuss how internal UAL works (its physics and mechanisms of action), gain a basic knowledge of the interaction between acoustic energy and tissue, identify safety concerns potentially related to thermal effects and free radical production, and define future research questions. Those attending represented multiple scientific disciplines: plastic surgery, physics, lipid chemistry, cancer biology, and medical biophysics. Participants agreed that scientists do not yet understand the mechanisms of UAL action, although multiple mechanisms are probably involved, such as mechanical forces, cavitation, and thermal effects. Additional research has revealed that long-term complications or negative bioeffects--including DNA damage and oxidation-free radical attack--are probably not serious safety concerns with UAL. Several areas deserving future investigation were proposed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Schorr
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000502:physiology; D001703:Biophysics; D004249:DNA Damage; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000378:metabolism; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D015187:Lipectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D016877:Oxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D012449:Safety; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014464:Ultrasonic Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D016877:Oxidants