A Smart and Simple Idea for Blocking the Plunger During Syringe Liposuction

Abstract

The use of a syringe connected to an aspiration cannula is one of the techniques used for liposuction, especially in cases that involve small-volume aspiration of localized adiposities, and for fat graft removal from the donor site for lipofilling. The cannula is connected to the syringe, and the plunger is pulled back, thus creating a vacuum that allows aspiration of the fat. To avoid the loss of the negative pressure created in the syringe, the plunger must be blocked when it is withdrawn. This cannot be done manually when large syringes (50 60 ml) are used. For this reason, there are commercial syringes with locking devices that block the plunger in the right position, but they are very often difficult to obtain, especially in various sizes and in appropriately sterile conditions. Other authors [1,2] have reported some ideas for solving this problem by using surgical instruments such as towel clamps or hemostats. These methods really help the surgeon during the aspiration procedure, allowing the manteinance of a good negative pressure. However, they cause an unbalanced weight increase in the whole device. We had the idea to block the withdrawn aspiration syringe plunger with another plunger smaller in size. In our practice, we use 50or 60-ml syringes for aspiration, and when the vacuum is created, we block the plunger with a 10-ml syringe plunger, as shown in Fig. 1. The procedure is really simple, practical, and inexpensive. Moreover, the absence of additional weight in the posterior part of the whole system, due to the surgical instrument used to block the plunger, makes the procedure more comfortable for the surgeon. We recommend it to all our colleagues.