Laser-Assisted Liposuction for Autologous Fat Grafting Following Elective Breast Explant Surgery

Background: The demand for breast implant removal increased globally. This study assessed an infrared diode laser's intraoperative and immediate postoperative features for fat harvesting when autologous breast lipograft is performed following breast explantation surgery. Methods: A prospective analytical nested case-control study was conducted comparing patients submitted to laser-assisted liposuction (cases, n=5) and conventional liposuction (controls, n=10). The analytical variables collected included the duration of surgery, the total volume of aspirated fat, the total volume of fat injected into the breasts, the time elapsed between the end of the surgery and the request for the first dose of analgesia, the total number of analgesics requested in the recovery room, and visual analogue scale for pain administered 6 hours after surgery. Results: In the transoperative period, cases have significantly increased rates of surgery time, total volume of aspirated fat, and total volume of fat injected into their breasts. Regarding pain, controls showed significantly higher consumption of analgesics, requested pain medication earlier, and obtained higher rates on the visual analogue scale. Conclusion: Patients submitted to laser-assisted liposuction had lower pain scores and used fewer analgesics than patients who did not use intraoperative lasers.