If you're
thinking about liposuction, forget the vacuum and say hello to the laser!
The Food
and Drug Administration has just approved a new, less-invasive technique
for liposuction using lasers. Some doctors say that this laser liposuction
is better and safer than the traditional surgery. It can help patients
lose a size or two with little down time, and without the usual effects
of loose, bumpy skin associated with traditional liposuction.
SmartLipo,
Smart Lipo, Laser Liposuction or laser lipolysis, is a procedure for fat
removal like liposuction that utilizes the energy generated from a laser
fiber to "melt" fat away.
Laser liposuction is performed in a doctor's office under
a light, local anesthetic.
Using a
very small cannula (tube) a laser fiber is inserted into the skin. The
cannula is moved back and forth delivering the laser's energy directly
to the fat cells, causing them to rupture and easily drain away. Unlike
traditional liposuction, which commonly leaves skin loose and lax, the
Smartlipo laser energy also interacts with the dermis, resulting in collagen
shrinkage and excellent skin retraction offering wonderful results.
Due to
the cannula's small size, Smartlipo is a minimally invasive procedure
and can be performed under local anesthesia. The laser causes small blood
vessels to thicken immediately on contact, resulting in less bleeding,
swelling and bruising - and a quicker recovery time than conventional
liposuction. Because general anesthesia is unnecessary, the laser procedure
is very safe, with only minimal side effects.
Traditional
liposuction uses a vacuum with a metal tube attached, which the doctor
moves back and forth as it tears out and removes fat. You get more loose
skin as a result, bleeding, swelling, scaring and destruction of tissue.
Sagging skin sometimes necessitates additional surgical procedures such
as face or neck lifts. Alternatively, Smartlipo uses a laser which melts
away fat and results in less destruction and bruising, less scaring and
no stitches. Recovery times are also faster with Smartlipo.
"If
you do traditional liposuction, you can actually make the skin look worse.
It is pretty much like a deflated balloon," said Dr. Bruce Katz in
a recent interview with ABC News. Dr. Katz is director of the Juva Skin
& Laser Center in New York City. "This type of laser technology
allows us to melt the fat and tighten the skin at the same time."
Laser lipo
treatments are not cheap. Treatments cost between $2,000 - $4,000 depending
on the treatment area or doctor.
The new
procedure isn't for everybody.
Doctors
say the laser system is best suited for targeting small fat deposits in
otherwise healthy people, and it is not a cure for obesity.
"In
the age of technology and cosmetic surgery, there are such dramatic improvements
in technology that sometimes the hype goes beyond what can actually be
accomplished," said Paul Jarrod Frank in a recent ABCNews.com interview.
Dr. Frank is a dermatologic surgeon in New York City.
"There
will never be a magic wand of cosmetic surgery," Frank said.
:
|
Dr. Douglas Hendricks
280 Newport
Center Drive, Suite 120
Newport Beach, California
949.640.9570
|
Total Cosmetix & Laser Body Contouring
16520 Bake Parkway, Suite
115
Irvine, CA
Phone: 949-857-4444 |
|
Orange
Coast Aesthetic Medical Group
website
2811 E. Katella Ave Suite
#100
Orange, CA
Phone: (714) 972-8001 |
|
Total Cosmetix & Laser Body Contouring