Lipo Vs. Smart Lipo

Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure that removes fat from the body. Smart liposuction is a new procedure that uses a laser to melt the fat and remove it from areas of the body with much less trauma. Both procedures require consideration before choosing one or the other.

Features

• Both procedures work well to eliminate fat. Traditional liposuction is a manual process that uses a vacuum attached to a metal tube to suck the fat from the body. Additional surgery is necessary to remove excess skin that remains after the fat removal procedure.
  Smart liposuction is more precise in the removal of fat. A laser that is not moved by hand controls the process. The process removes the excess skin at the same timel. This eliminates the need for an additional surgery.

Considerations

• Some doctors will use both methods to contour the body. The traditional liposuction procedure is used to remove the larger portion of fat and the laser treatment fine-tunes the contouring process.
  When considering the type of procedure that you will use for your cosmetic procedure, the amount of fat that needs to be removed is a factor.
  Liposuction requires general anesthesia and is more expensive than laser liposuction. Smart lipo can be done with intravenous sedation and this allows for a much faster recovery.

Procedures

• in liposuction, incisions are made in areas such as skin folds or where they will be hidden by clothing. The procedure is performed under general anesthesia in most cases. Tumescent, which is a combination of lidocaine and epinephrine, is injected into the area. A small tube is used to vacuum the fat out of the area.
  Smart lipo breaks down the fat through the skin and causes it to liquefy. The doctor suctions the liquefied fat from a small incision in the skin.

Recovery

• Patients are awake during the laser liposuction procedure and this aids in the recovery time. The patient will have to wear compression garments after the procedure, but will be able to return to work after only a couple of days.
  Traditional liposuction takes longer to recover from and there is considerable bruising and swelling. Typical liposuction patients can return to work a week after the procedure. Resuming normal activities takes longer than a laser liposuction procedure.

Effects

• The effects of the procedure are the same with both procedures. There may be less scarring after a laser liposuction procedure because of the smaller incision required to remove the fat. Both procedures offer patients the ability to remove fat that is resistant to diet and exercise.