Does liposuction eliminate fat without damaging your skin?

• April 24, 2024

Laser-assisted liposuction could be an alternative for people who want to get rid of some persistent bags of fat, but fear being left with loose skin.

Traditional liposuction, a cosmetic surgical removal of fat, is usually done only on people with firm skin to reduce the risk of wrinkled skin later. But the inclusion of lasers could favor the firmness of the skin, researchers say.

The researchers examined the degree of skin shrinkage in nearly 2,200 women and men who underwent laser liposuction in various parts of their body, such as the belly, thighs and arms. This relatively new method was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) UU in 2006.

Three months after laser liposuction, the researchers found that patients had 20% to 80% shrinkage of the skin, which means that the skin contracted 20 to 80% of what would have been expected to the volume of fat that was extracted. The amount of skin that "contracted" depended on the elasticity of the skin and the area of ​​the body treated.

The amount of skin shrinkage with laser liposuction is likely to be 50% better than what would have been achieved with traditional liposuction, he said. Dr. Abbas Chamsuddin, principal author of the study and interventional radiologist in the Laser and Interventionist Surgery Center in Atlanta.

However, the researchers did not have a group that underwent traditional liposuction to make the comparison. To see how laser liposuction fits, Chamsuddin would like to do another study in which a second group of patients undergoes traditional liposuction.

The new form of liposuction also has the potential to eliminate more fat than the traditional one, and results in less blood loss, because the laser dries blood vessels, Chamsuddin said.

The laser operation and the traditional one have similarities. In both, a solution is injected into the fat to numb the area and contract the blood vessels of the region (to reduce blood loss), and an incision of one-tenth of an inch (about 2.5 mm), Chamsuddin said.

Although traditional liposuction involves the absorption of fat in the solid state using a hollow pen-like device, laser liposuction fuses the fat with a laser before emptying it with a similar device in the form of a pencil.

"The main contribution that laser liposuction offers is the improvement in shrinkage of the skin, but there is not much objective evidence," said Kenkel.

Although a previous small study found that skin shrinkage was almost 50% better with laser than with traditional liposuction, the degree of shrinkage was low with both procedures and the difference was probably not significant for patients, he said.

Kenkel is also concerned about the safety of laser liposuction. The laser causes the skin to reach high temperatures, which can cause burns and scars if not used correctly, he said.

Chamsuddin thinks that the risk of injury is similar for laser and traditional liposuction. However, in his opinion, the use of the laser causes more pain, because it causes burns in the tissue. In their study, most participants complained of cramping and a burning sensation for several days after the operation.

Although the price of liposuction varies, it is usually between $ 2,000 and $ 4,000 for the arms, belly and thighs. The price of traditional liposuction can be between 2 thousand and 10 thousand dollars, depending on the area of ​​the body and the center where it takes place, said Kenkel.

Video Medicine: Renovo Skin Clinic UF Non-surgical Liposuction | Fat Dissolving (April 2024).