LaserLipo

LaserLipo (laser assisted lipolysis) works by using heat from a flexible laser fiber with a 1mm diameter, about the size of angel hair pasta. Heat melts the fat cells and reduces them to an oily substance that is removed by aspiration. The heat seals off blood vessels, which significantly reduces bruising. Another effect of the heat is that it also stimulates collagen production. LaserLipo also gives the added benefit of some immediate tightening of the skin in the area where it is applied. The total result is firmer and tighter skin, a trimmer silhouette, and a smoother sculpted look, with much less downtime. One study reports,” One month and three months after treatment, the mean skin shrinkage ratios were significantly higher on the laser-treated side than on the suction side (traditional liposuction). Three months after treatment, the mean skin stiffness and skin tightening were significantly higher on the laser-treated side.” (1)

A local anesthesia is applied to numb the area to be treated. Tiny injections at the insertion points seem to be the most discomfort people report. Patients have reported minimal to no discomfort for the treatment itself. Some patients report nothing, because they fall asleep.

You’ll be able to resume normal activity in a few days (2) and strenuous activity like exercise or gym workouts within a week. A patient returned to competitive ballroom dancing the next day while another walked 5 miles, but each person is somewhat different and you need to listen to your body. You’ll need to wear a support garment for a month. You’ll notice a reduction in swelling by about 70% in one month, a 90% reduction in 3 months and complete reduction in 6 months. Most patients have reported that even with swelling, they felt smaller and their clothes fit looser within a few days to a week.

LaserLipo has replaced a lot of the work done by traditional liposuction. Laser-assisted liposuction (LaserLipo) is a safe and efficacious procedure that possesses advantages over conventional liposuction.(3) LaserLipo removes a comparable volume of fat compared with liposuction. (4) LaserLipo is performed in the office under local anesthesia where the patient is relaxed and awake during the procedure which allows them to reposition their own body and provide direct feedback to the doctor about how they feeling. There are no systematic complications with LaserLipo. In a study of 537 performed by my mentor and colleague Dr. Benjamin Katz, only one minor local infection at an insertion point occurred. (5) LaserLipo seals off bleeding as it works, is more precise with less discomfort and short downtime. It’s one “drawback” is that you still require a proper medical preparation consisting of a history and physical, blood work, and a support garment to insure good and safe results.

Plastic surgery literature shows that traditional liposuction under general anesthesia is associated with complications like deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, abdominal and organ perforation, infection, and internal bleeding. The European literature analyzed data from 72 cases of severe complications from liposuction including 23 deaths (1999-2002) caused from different forms of gangrene and sepsis. Other lethal outcomes were from hemorrhage, abdominal perforation, and pulmonary embolism. (6) Besides the surgical risks there is also a higher risk related to general anesthesia. Liposuction requires substantial downtime, with considerable pain, discomfort, and large scale bruising.

Liposuction is still a tool in the physician’s toolbox, especially if you require substantial fat elimination, but because of its higher risk/return profile its not likely to be your first choice. Liposuction is used a lot with tummy tucks where larger volumes of fat must be removed. If you are a candidate for traditional liposuction I’ll tell you and recommend the best physician to perform that procedure.

If you are a liposuction candidate or have had liposuction this doesn’t rule out LaserLipo. You can combine the procedures. I often see traditional liposuction patients come for LaserLipo to get more precise fat leveling and the benefits of skin tightening that you can’t get with traditional liposuction.

LaserLipo  works best for people that are 10-30lbs over their ideal body weight, but can be used in select larger patients with localized fat deposits. Some patients that exceed this profile who opt for the procedure understand they need to moderate their expectations. Some of the areas that LaserLipo can be used on include:

LaserLipo removes fat cells by melting them. Cellulite is the result of the inflammation of fibrous rings around fat cells. For that reason, no liposuction or LaserLipo will remove cellulite. This is why I recommend Cellulaze®, another form of LaserLipo that helps break down the fibrous bands and reduce the appearance of “cottage cheese” thighs and the rimpling and dimpling that develop in different areas of the body because of cellulite.

Although bodysculpting therapies kill fat cells in the treated areas you should not think they are a shortcut or an acceptable replacement for good nutrition and exercise.  If you gain weight, the fat will go to an area of your body where you still have fat cells, which could result in a disproportionate look. For this reason I counsel people to consider LaserLipo as an adjunct to a healthy lifestyle, which includes both good nutrition and exercise.

There are certain unscrupulous providers who try to get you to believe that LaserLipo is their “Lipo laser”. These are two completely different therapies. Lipo Laser uses low level laser beams to place a temporary opening in fat cells to “leak out” some of the stored fat and thereby shrink the cell. The cell is still intact and has the potential to get larger again by storing fat if more calories are consumed than are burned up during the course of a day. Therefore, it is possible to lose and regain fat repetitively in the same area over time since the fat cells are never permanently removed. This is called a “cold laser” since the patient does not perceive heat (which is generally felt when a laser is used).

Lipo Laser should NOT be confused with LaserLipo, which actually uses heat to permanently destroy the fat cell. That the provider, a beauty spa, mixes the words up, calling their page “Laser Lipo FAQs” while specifically talking about Lipo Laser in the content, is obviously meant to create confusion between a purely aesthetic procedure that will have to be repeated and a LaserLipo the medical procedure discussed on this page. This is the sort of bad practice that hurts the reputation of aesthetic medicine by purposely confusing the patient. When you provide excellent standards of medical care you don’t have to trick people with word gimmicks. I’ll tell you exactly what you are getting and the results you can expect in clear and simple explanations.

LaserLipo/SmartLipo® goes by various brand names but they are all laser assisted lipolysis or laser liposuction. They all use a 1mm laser fiber inserted under the skin using an equally tiny hole. The heat melts the fat cells turning them into an oily substance that is removed by aspiration. The heat seals off blood vessels significantly reducing bruising. The heat also stimulates collagen production in the treated area, tightening the skin in the treated area. LaserLipo is great if:

You want a one and done procedure.
You have a bit more subcutaneous fat to remove than CoolSculpting can handle.
You want to the added skin tightening.

CoolSculpting is great if:

You don’t like the idea of even a minimally invasive procedure.
You have a medical condition that counter indicates LaserLipo.
You don’t mind sitting for multiple sessions.

Either procedure is the “right choice” depending on your circumstances and your goals.