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Benefits of Laser Liposuction

There is a reason why laser liposuction has increased the popularity of liposuction procedures. Some of the benefits of laser liposuction are directly related to improvements from traditional liposuction methods while others are credited to the laser technique itself. The most common risks of liposuction are greatly reduced with the introduction of laser lipo. Using the laser technique also brings about the potential for positive side effects. The scale of the surgery is typically smaller than procedures using traditional methods. This affects the cost since smaller procedures generally cost less overall. But the exact amounts depend on many factors and laser assisted liposuction requires specialized equipment that are added costs to the clinic which will inevitably be passed to the patient. There are many comparisons to be made but the most important things are those that directly affect the patient and the outcome. This includes the risks, costs, and recovery differences between laser lipo and traditional liposuction surgeries.

Laser Lipo Risks and Side Effects

The risk of any plastic surgery procedure includes bleeding, bruising, scarring and infection. Traditional liposuction patients are particularly prone to some of these risks since the use of force to break fat cells causes quite a bit of trauma to the surrounding tissue. Damaged blood vessels cause excessive bleeding to a point where blood transfusions are the norm. Laser liposuction minimizes most of these risks because the technique of using a laser to melt the fat is much more precise than the force used to break fat cells. There is much less blood loss and in cases where small amounts are leaked from damaged capillaries, trace amounts of blood will evaporate from the heat generated by the laser. This leaves the treated area more dry which greatly improves the recovery experience for the patient.

A positive side effect of laser liposuction is the tightening of the skin. This is caused by the laser because the heat generated by the laser causes the collagen in the skin to contract. For facial liposuction patients, this is a great replacement to a facelift. This is most effective for those who have the elasticity in their skin and is not confined to just the face. The result of the laser is part of a strategy to reducing cellulite by laser lipo surgery. it is also used in breast lift procedures sometimes referred to as breast reduction liposuction whereby the removal of fat tissue causes a reduction in breast size.

Laser Lipo Recovery

A great benefit laser lipo patients enjoy is the reduced recovery time required. Since the trauma to surrounding tissue is reduced and the scale of the surgery overall is smaller, there is less to recover from. The small incision areas reduce the risk of infection and the reduced bleeding means less chances of problems arising after the surgery. The most common cause of problems during recovery is the inadequate drainage of the treated area. Leaked fluids such as blood can pool and cause temporary but unsightly color spots or even swelling that can take months before they go away.

Laser Liposuction Cost

The cost of laser liposuction is affected by the same factors as most plastic surgery procedures. Aside from the surgeon costs which should be about the same regardless of whether traditional or laser lipo is being performed, the anesthesia and facility cost will be vastly different from traditional lipo methods. Since most patients will not require general anesthesia and do not have to be fully sedated, there is a cost saving in the lower dosage. The facility cost includes use of equipment which adds to the cost since most laser techniques are fairly new and the cost of the equipment will be passed down to the patient.

With higher cost due to the new equipment and relatively longer surgery time, because laser lipo is a slow procedure removing small amounts of fat at a time, laser lipo is still very much worth the price. This is because of the added benefits and the precision that slows down the surgery actually improves the results. It is easy for a laser liposuction patient to be very happy with their newly sculpted body because success rate is extremely high.

Liposuction Scars

Liposuction scars are very real risks for any patient. In fact, scarring is an inherent risk with any plastic surgery procedure because the incision makes that area prone to problems such as scarring and infection. The good news is that scars, although unsightly, are not particularly dangerous to a person’s physical health. A scar is an area of the skin where a fibrous material replaces the normal skin after an injury, or in this case, a surgery that causes too much trauma to the skin.

The thicker tissue does not function like the normal skin with all the sweat glands and hair follicles but serve the purpose of closing a wound or opening in the skin that would otherwise be prone to infection. Different liposuction techniques that have been developed recently have improved on traditional methods and reduce the chances of producing visible scars significantly. There are also non-invasive or non-surgical liposuction options available as well that could almost entirely eliminate the risk of scarring.

Scars are caused by damage to the skin. Just about any injury would result in a scar and what people really care about is the visibility of the scar. Minor injuries will scar but to a degree that is not visible. In general terms the deeper the wound, the bigger the scar will be. Liposuction scars could occur from the incision area where the skin does not close up properly resulting in a visible scar. It could also be produced from underneath the skin when the tools used in liposuction are operated too close to the surface of the skin from the underside. This can damage the deeper layers of the skin which could produce a scar.

Although rare, laser liposuction introduces a new risk of scarring that could result from burns. The burning of the skin could occur when the heat generated from the laser is too great and the laser is not moved to a new location. This burn under the skin could produce a scar although this is really rare, very uncommon, and requires near-intentional delinquency from the surgeon. More realistically, laser lipo reduces the risk of scarring since incisions required to perform the surgery are smaller and the precision of the laser technique reduces the amount of harm caused to nearby skin tissue. That is why it is a popular technique used in specialty procedures like breast reduction liposuction where scarring must be avoided as much as possible for best results.

For those who want to avoid liposuction scars there are non-surgical options available. These are only effective for tiny deposits of the fat since only trace amounts of fat can be removed at a time through non-surgical treatments. Some techniques use a needle to inject a chemical solution that causes the fat to melt away. This liquefied fat is picked up and removed from the body by the body’s natural cleansing process. A popular version of this injection technique is Lipodissolve. Another method is known as Thermage, which is the use of a laser to target fat cells and melt them without surgery. It is different from laser lipo which inserts a laser-charged fiber to melt the fat and suction the fat out of the body. Thermage does not suction the fat and only melts trace amounts so that the body can cleanse the melted fat through natural cycles of removing toxins from the body.

Scarring is a very real risk of any surgical procedure and liposuction scars, although rare and usually mild are still possibilities that anyone considering plastic surgery should be aware of. The good news is that any scar can theoretically be removed. A popular treatment is laser skin resurfacing which basically removes a thin layer off the top of your skin revealing the fresh, young skin cells underneath. Multiple sessions will remove enough skin to eliminate some skin problems such as acne and other scars as well as damaged skin cells and wrinkles in the skin.

Risks of Liposuction

Along with the typical risks that come with any surgical procedure, liposuction is a relatively low risk plastic surgery solution for many. Laser liposuction further decreases risks as since it is a more precision enhanced method of the procedure. Typical complications such as surgical and anesthesia risks, as well as some common liposuction side effects are greatly reduced or eliminated altogether. Potential undesired effects such as skin irregularities and other poor results are greatly minimized because laser liposuction removes fat at a slower pace. The procedure might take longer because it is a slower method but the recovery is usually quicker due to the smaller equipment and incisions required to perform the surgery.

Liposuction Risks

The risks of liposuction can be categorized into two groups. They are either surgical related or anesthesia related. Surgical risks include any potential problems that could occur during the surgery or as a result of the surgery. Traditional liposuction procedures are particularly known for causing a lot of bleeding and so much so that in some cases blood transfusions are in order. Excessive bleeding and bruising are not as bad as the risk of internal organ damage caused by the mechanical force used to break up fat cells. There is also the risk of infection to the incision area after the surgery.

Anesthesia related risks are usually the result of improper administration. The wrong dosage can be dangers if overdosed and scary if under dosed and the patient awakes in the middle of the process. There are also some risks of allergic reactions to particular solutions in the drug. Patients are advised to avoid any epinephrine-like drugs such as cold medications because the solution in anesthesia would cause the heart rate to elevate. An excess of this could lead to cardiac arrhythmia.

Laser Liposuction Risks

Since laser assisted liposuction eliminates the need for excessive force to break up fat cells and provides a more accurate way of targeting fat cells, the neighboring tissue in the area being treated is less prone to trauma and stress. The chance of internal organ damage is near zero except for the extremely rare event that the surgeon doesn’t know what they are doing. Bleeding is minimal with laser liposuction because damage to blood vessels is minimal and in the event that there is a bleed, the heat from the laser will cause small leaks to evaporate. The smaller incision also means less risk of an infection after the surgery.

Traditional liposuction is used to treat larger areas and for that reason requires general anesthesia meaning the patient is completely sedated during the surgery. The larger dosage increases the risk. Laser lipo patients only require local anesthesia which means a smaller dosage, just enough to numb the area, and the patient is awake during the procedure. In this way, if something feels uncomfortable or abnormal there is an open line of communication between patient and surgeon throughout the procedure. The lower dosage also means that if the patient happens to have an allergic reaction to the drug, it will be a much smaller reaction.

Liposuction Side Effects

The most common side effects of liposuction include skin irregularities, hematomas and seromas. Skin irregularities is a permanent problem and although unsightly, is not particularly dangerous. It occurs when too much fat is removed from one area causing lumps and grooves to appear in the skin. There is also a risk of necrosis from some liposuction techniques that treat fat too close to the skin. Necrosis is dead skin cells caused by damage to the blood vessels and other connective tissue that supply the skin cells. Hematomas and seromas are conditions that cause visible coloration of the skin due to the pooling of blood leaked from damaged blood vessels. Proper drainage of the incision area can prevent of minimize the chances of hematomas or seromas. These are temporary conditions that go away with time depending on the severity.

Laser Lipo Side Effects

Laser liposuction minimizes most of the side effects such as hematomas and seromas because there is much less bleeding caused to the area. There is a risk, however, of burning the skin with the laser if it is left in one area for too long. This is a very rare case where the surgeon doesn’t move the laser away soon enough. The chance of skin irregularities is almost zero since laser liposuction is a slow process of removing smaller amounts of fat at a time. In fact, some large procedures will use traditional methods to remove large amounts of fat but stop just shy of finishing the procedure so that the surgeon can change techniques and use laser liposuction to remove the remainder of the fat. This way, the laser is used to define and finalize the sculpting of the area being treated.