>CONTACT:  Jennifer Holshouser
>
>
>MEDIA ADVISORY
>
>U.VA. PLASTIC SURGEONS OFFER NEW LIPOSUCTION PROCEDURE
>
> Surgeons at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center
>are offering a new liposuction procedure that's more effective at
>removing fat from certain areas of the body.
> With the new procedure, ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty (UAL),
>surgeons use a probe that transmits ultrasonic energy to break down
fat
>cells into a liquid-like substance, which they suction out through a
>small incision.  Traditional suction-assisted lipoplasty (SAL)
involves
>surgeons using a small tube called a cannula to physically break up
the
>fat layers under the skin and then remove the solid fat globules with
>strong suction.
> "Because UAL gives us the ability to liquefy the fat, it's very
>effective in dense areas of the body, such as hips, thighs and the
male
>breast area, where fat cells are often hidden behind fibrous tissue
and
>are hard to suction out with the traditional method," said Dr.
Raymond
>F. Morgan, chairman of U.Va.'s Department of Plastic and
Maxillofacial
>Surgery.  So far, Morgan has performed UAL on eight patients, all of
>whom were pleased with the results.
> While UAL costs the same and takes about the same amount of time
>as SAL, the new procedure involves less blood loss and bruising than
>traditional SAL.  Morgan stressed that UAL does not replace
traditional
>suction-assisted lipoplasty, because certain thin-skinned areas of
the
>body such as the ankles and the chin area can't tolerate the heat
>generated by UAL.  "The ultrasound method simply compensates for some
of
>the limitations of SAL," he said.
>- more -
>UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA - PAGE TWO
> The UAL procedure was developed by an Italian surgeon in 1988.
>After extensive clinical trials conducted jointly by the FDA and the
>American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, several
devices
>gained FDA approval in 1997.  Surgeons in the United States are
required
>to complete an extensive training program in UAL before offering the
>procedure to patients.
>###
>February 11, 1998
>
>