The Basics of Laser Liposuction

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.