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PLASTIC SURGERY NEWS, SURGERY NEWS, COSMETIC SURGERY NEWS Dcember 2004 NEWS  |
Sound Surgical files for IPO
The Louisville company, which invented a method to make liposuction less traumatic, hopes to raise as much as $23 million.
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Louisville-based Sound Surgical Technologies is hoping to ride the liposuction craze toward an initial public offering of as much as $23 million.
The local tech startup invented an ultrasound technology known as the Vaser System, which local doctors say makes removing fat from hips, buttocks or other body parts a less painful and traumatic process.
Paul Zwiebel, a plastic surgeon based in Littleton and an ASPS spokesman, said Sound Surgical Technologies needs the IPO to finance growth and research.
"They have the state-of-the-art technology and have been experiencing tremendous growth," said Zwiebel, who began using the Vaser System four years ago.
Traditional liposuction, which was imported to the U.S. from Europe in the early 1980s, involved a sharp tubular probe, or cannula, that is inserted into chins, hips, abdomen and other flab- prone areas to suck out as much as 5 liters of fat in a single operation.
But the Vaser System uses ultrasonic waves to liquefy fat beforehand and avoid damaging surrounding tissue. Then a blunt cannula can suck out the liquid fat, which has the consistency of yellow pudding, according to Dr. Lisa Hunsicker, a plastic surgeon in Littleton.
"With traditional liposuction, people would be black and blue and very sore for about two weeks," said Hunsicker. "Now I am completely amazed to see my patients the day after surgery. They come trotting in."
The Vaser System allows doctors for the first time to suck fat away from hard-to-reach body parts such as the breasts or chest. Doctor can use the device to suck fat out during other plastic surgeries, such as a breast reduction.
