There has been an influx of patients who have presented for treatment of secondary problems after undergoing laser liposuction. While liposuction has been around for almost 30 years, its traditional method of the manual loosening of fat has seen some recent technologic advances. One of these is the heating or melting of the fat by a laser probe prior to its vacuum extraction.
Advertised under brand names like Smartlipo™, SlimLipo™, and CoolLipo™, laser liposuction devices use a low-energy laser to melt targeted fat cells. Its touted benefits include skin tightening, reduced bruising, and quicker recovery over conventional liposuction methods. Having done a lot of Smartlipo liposuction, its benefits in my experience do include more effective fat removal and less bruising and pain afterwards. Its skin tightening effects, however, remain moderate at best. (and overstated from a patient expectation perspective)
With the emergence of laser liposuction technology has come a lot of promotional hoopla. A quick trip to the internet and with minimal searching, one can find a lot of marketing claims. The most prominent are those that revolve around how quick and easy the procedure is and, quite frankly, how much better it is than traditional liposuction. Many of these claims imply that it is better because it is less surgery. The reality is that laser liposuction is just as invasive as traditional liposuction and has all of associated risks and complications as well.
While liposuction, like any plastic surgery procedure, does not provide guaranteed results and is not free of potential complications (like unevenness or waviness) there are numerous laser liposuction patients I have seen for postoperative problems. These postoperative problems fall into two categories; lack of a significant result or change in contour and irregularities and wavy skin problems.
While plastic surgeons are certainly not immune from postoperative problems and complications, the vast majority of laser liposuction problems that I have seen have come from non-plastic surgery providers. With variable medical backgrounds and limited liposuction training and experience, it is no surprise that the potential exists for a higher rate of complications. With many doctors expanding into services they were never fully trained to perform, disappointing results are inevitable. Many people are surprised to learn that their liposuction surgeon was trained as a family doctor or internist, and simply took a weekend course to learn how to use a surgical laser to perform liposuction and body contours. While using lasers to perform liposuction may sound like a simple ‘Star Wars’ approach, the energy from these devices can drastically increase the risk of a negative result from liposuction.
Contributing to this training issue is the intentional indiscriminate sales policies of the laser liposuction manufacturers. As long as you are a licensed physician, they do not appear to care about your educational and training background. All that you need is a medical license and a valid credit card or check. This makes it possible for any physician to buy a laser liposuction machine regardless of whether they are really qualified and experienced (from a patient’s perspective) to be doing body liposuction surgery.
Without a broad scope of training and experience in body contouring, such providers are not able to perform liposuction in an accredited surgery center or hospital. This leads to laser liposuction procedures being done in office facilities under local anesthesia, which may sound appealing to patients, but may lead to suboptimal results and difficult patient experiences. Local anesthesia for liposuction is not for everyone or everyone’s fat problems.
What patients need to remember is that a device is never solely responsible for making a surgical result. The one holding and using a device is what is most important. Liposuction results are most directly tied to the surgeon’s ability and not the technology. Above all, it’s important to choose your liposuction surgeon carefully. Don’t be swayed by special offers and discounts. All laser liposuction surgeons are not the same – even if the machines they are using may be.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana