The Energy a Plastic Surgeon Expends during Liposuction

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Surgical Technology
• Human Physiology

Background:

• Liposuction is recognized as a physically demanding surgical procedure.
• Quantifying surgeon energy expenditure during liposuction is crucial for understanding procedural demands.
• Existing data lacks precise measurements of energy consumption in liposuction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure the energy expenditure of surgeons during liposuction procedures.
• To correlate energy consumption with fat volume removed and other surgical variables.
• To establish a quantitative understanding of the physical effort in liposuction.

Main Methods:

• A prospective case series involving three plastic surgeons across three centers.
• Surgeons utilized Apple Watches to record energy expenditure during liposuction procedures.
• Data collection occurred between April 2022 and November 2022.

Main Results:

• An average of 6.14 cm³ of fat was obtained per kilocalorie (kcal) of energy expended.
• Approximately 160 calories were required to remove 1 cm³ of fat.
• Statistically significant correlations were found between fat volume and surgeon's average pace, heart rate, surgical time, and distance covered.

Conclusions:

• Liposuction is an energy-intensive surgical procedure.
• This study quantifies the energy expenditure required for standard liposuction.
• Liposuction demands approximately three times more energy compared to other single surgical procedures.