THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 11, 1996 TAG: 9603090053
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
Dr. Charles Gross confesses to being 30 pounds overweight, but that doesn't mean he's ready to volunteer as a test subject for his own invention.
Diet first, he says. Then, and only then, ``we'll see.''
Across the country, however, many others are waiting to see whether a fat-reduction method, known as ``liposhaving,'' that Gross pioneered could supplement or even replace liposuction, one of America's most popular plastic surgery procedures. The advance could reduce the pain and discomfort of fat removal, cut recuperation times in half and substantially lower hospitalization costs.
``I think I've done some fairly significant things in medicine,'' said Gross, a head and neck surgeon at the University of Virginia's Health and Sciences Center. ``Probably this was not the most important or the most difficult. But it sure has gotten a lot of attention.''
The interest comes as the waistlines of aging baby boomers bulge and the nation collectively grows more tubby with the passage of each well-fed year. According to figures compiled by the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, surgical removal of body fat, or liposuction, is No. 1 on the list of what the group calls ``aesthetic procedures.''
Gross has spent 2 1/2 years perfecting a device that he originally used to remove polyps, or tissue growths, from the nasal and sinus cavities of patients. He says he realized the instrument that shaved away polyps layer by layer could be adapted to do the same thing with fat.
When put on the end of a cannula, or hollow tube (also used in liposuction), small, rotating blades with serrated edges could carve away fatty tissue, and without the dimpling or asymmetry sometimes reported with liposuction.
What's more, the Gross cannula was smaller than the one required by the traditional method, resulting in a smaller incision. Since the modified cannula tip was bladed and not blunt, fat would be more easily removed. Most would be shaved, and less powerful suction was needed.
The net result: less physical trauma, faster healing times and a better-looking, fat-reduced body part.
Gross and U.Va. colleagues first tested a prototype device on cadavers at the university's hospital. Eventually, a Florida company, Linvatec Corp., of Largo, Fla., produced several versions of the liposhaver, which have been used on about a dozen volunteers in Charlottesville.
Several medical groups around the country continue to evaluate Gross' innovation, gathering clinical data that will be used to modify and improve the instrument.
``To date, (liposhaving) appears to be a safe and rapid method of removing fat,'' said Dr. M. Eugene Tardy, a professor of head and throat surgery at the University of Illinois. Tardy leads a five-doctor team that so far has excised fat from the chins, necks and faces of 30 patients using the liposhaver.
``It's much too early to say if it should be used on a widespread basis. The research and the science needs to be done first,'' Tardy said.
Ruby Kennedy has only praise for the technique. Kennedy, a U.Va. fiscal technician, was bothered for years by sagging skin under her chin.
In late November, Kennedy stepped before a national television audience on the Phil Donahue show, just three days after liposhaving surgery. Gross, who had performed the procedure, accompanied Kennedy.
Although her neck and chin were discolored, a bruising effect common after cosmetic surgery, Kennedy said she felt no pain.
``Before I had the surgery my husband said that he would love me with or without a double chin,'' she said. ``Afterwards, he looked and said `Wow! It did make a difference.' I've had no problems. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants it done.''
Whether plastic surgeons embrace the procedure remains to be seen. Liposhaving has yet to be evaluated for the abdomen, buttocks or hips. And liposuction is a tried-and-true procedure, with fairly well understood benefits and drawbacks.
One of liposhaving's biggest potential problems is that posed by the instrument's cutting blades. If improperly handled, the device could cause much damage to supporting tissues near the area where fat is to be removed.
A blunt liposuction cannula pushes aside large blood vessels and nerves, but the liposhaver could cut right through them.
Other parts of the body - the large intestine, say, or the stomach - could conceivably be punctured by the liposhaver's sharp, whirring blades.
``I wonder if this application will allow us to remove more fat with fewer complications anywhere on the body,'' said Dr. Lawrence Colen, associate professor of plastic surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk. ``I could see this roto-rooter concept could have a role to play where the fat is more fibrous.''
The buttocks and hips are examples of places that pose fewer risks, Colen said. The abdomen, however, is a potential mine field.
Gross concedes the dangers. He and others are exploring ways to reduce the threat of inadvertent injury, perhaps by including a tiny camera within the cannula tip so that plastic surgeons would be able to see their progress every step of the way.
The 65-year-old Gross, who has spent virtually his whole adult life studying or practicing medicine, appears bemused by the national attention his invention has generated. He's done television shows, been interviewed by the British Broadcasting Co. and been the subject of at least 50 newspaper articles.
Gross guesses it's just the sign of the times that people have become preoccupied by the reshaping of ample contours.
``A self-image in today's society is terrifically important. I don't want to underplay that,'' he said. ``It's the age we live in.''
``In the overall scheme of things, it's not important if you get a little fat off the body - as compared to ridding someone of some dread disease or saving their lives. You have to put it in perspective. The fun of medicine at this stage in my career is to try to take experience I've had and help patients.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Huy Nguyen
KEYWORDS: LIPOSUCTION LIPOSHAVING by CNB