wisegeek | After a standard liposuction
fat removal procedure, the lipo fat is normally sealed in a specialized
biohazard container designated for medical waste. It is then burned in
an incinerator designed for this purpose. While some surgeons may
dispose of body fat this way on the same clinic or hospital premises,
many of them outsource this job to a local medical waste disposal
company. Post-liposuction waste presents a contamination risk just as
other types of human biological matter removed during surgery, and it
needs to be disposed with the proper procedures for handling this kind
of biohazardous waste.
Liposuction
removes a layer of fat deposits from underneath the skin by vacuum
aspiration. It is usually done under general or local anesthesia with a
medical instrument called a cannula, and the targeted fat waste usually
needs to be broken up through the surgeon's back-and-forth manipulation
of the cannula. It can then travel through a tube attached to the
cannula to a collection container. Individuals who choose to have
liposuction generally do so as an additional resort after caloric
reduction and exercise have not removed enough fat tissue from certain
areas of the body.
Some plastic
surgeons also use liposuction fat on a limited basis for other types of
cosmetic procedures such as breast augmentation, face wrinkle filling,
or lip injections; these are also known as fat transfer
procedures. Good candidates for fat transfer injections are those with
areas of the face or body that could be improved by being significantly
filled out in volume. Due to the natural composition of human fat cells,
some doctors prefer to use liposuction fat over synthetic injection
fillers.
Medical researchers
routinely experiment with possible uses for liposuction fat in stem cell
development. Adult human fat cells contain the same basic biological
material as embryonic stem cells, and this matter can sometimes be
extracted with certain microscopic tools. It can then be potentially be
converted to healthy stem cells that can possibly be used to repair
tissue damage from injuries or other physical defects.
Liposuction fat waste also
has some potential as material for biodiesel fuel. Some scientists have
succeeded in liquefying post-liposuction waste so that it can be used
to fuel specialized biodiesel engines, although the average volume of
fuel can be somewhat smaller than the original volume of the body fat
waste. This use of removed lipo fat is generally experimental and can
sometimes be subject to legal restriction in certain areas.
