Question:

I keep hearing about so many different liposuction techniques.  It seems like there is a new one every day.  Can you explain what some of the more commonly used or more effective techniques are, the pros and cons and what they are most appropriate for treating? 

Answer:

All liposuction techniques are most appropriate for treating patients who are healthy, who are health conscious, who are active in exercise and maintain a healthy diet.  Liposuction is best suited for people who have genetic areas of predisposition for fat deposits.  In another words, the best candidate for liposuction is not a morbidly obese person but someone who just has problem areas that need to be contoured.  Liposuction by any method is not a weight loss procedure, it is a contouring procedure.  

The most recent advance in liposuction involves radio-frequency heating or destroying of the fat cells.  Other more recent advances are laser liposuction, which is the application of a laser energy to the fat cells to also destroy the fat cells.  

The purpose of both the radio-frequency and laser liposuction are not only to melt the fat cells but also to get some skin shrinkage as well.  However, none of the current techniques have been around long enough nor have they been studied extensively enough to be able to say that they clearly provide an advantage over traditional liposuction, which is just removing fat cells through a cannula connected to negative pressure.  

Both radio-frequency and laser liposuction also administer traditional liposuction after using the newer technologies to melt the fat cells.  So, both radio-frequency and laser liposuction utilize both traditional liposuction and the newer technologies that I mentioned. 

Posted by:  Dr. Siporin