Almost anyone can be a good candidate for SmartLipo. In general, the ideal candidate: (1) is in good health, exercises regularly, is within 25 lbs. of his or her ideal weight; (2) has one or more areas of local body fat deposits that have responded poorly to diet and exercise; and (3) is bothered by these fatty areas, and is motivated to get rid of them permanently.

Our doctors and staff will review the benefits and risks of SmartLipo during your consultation visit. We will assess whether you are a good candidate with respect to your medical health, and clarify what SmartLipo could do for you.

Generally, SmartLipo might be right for you if:

* You don't have a lot of time to spend in recovery. - SmartLipo patients are typically back to work within 1-2 days following the procedure. Bandages are removed 1-2 weeks after that.

* You've worked hard to eat right and exercise, yet you still can't lose those "love handles" or other fat deposits you consider unsightly. - Human fat, or adipose tissue, can be very hard to get rid of through exercise and diet alone. SmartLipo can be a relatively simple solution to remove stubborn fat permanently.

* You want a procedure that is FDA approved. - The SmartLipo device was approved in November of 2006, and today is one of the fasting-growing, safest procedures in the cosmetic surgery field.

* You don't want loose skin as a result of the procedure. - Many patients of traditional liposuction find that their skin does not adjust to the reduction of fat deposits. This tendency often results in unattractive "droops." These patients often require skin lifts that can lead to scars, thus rendering the initial liposuction treatment useless. But by pulling the surrounding skin inward, SmartLipo laser technology can reconstruct the layers immediately under the patient's skin, completely eliminating skin drooping.

* You want something more affordable than traditional liposuction. - The cost of the SmartLipo procedure depends on how many areas are being treated, but just your neck starts at $2,000. The average traditional liposuction procedure on an abdomen costs about $6,500. The average SmartLipo abdomen procedure costs $5,000. This difference in pricing represents a 30% cost savings.

* You want permanent results. -Once the fat is removed from a particular area of the body, it will never return. If you gain fat in the future, it will be deposited elsewhere on your body.

To be a good candidate for SmartLipo, you should have realistic expectations about the procedure's capabilities. And while SmartLipo can improve your appearance and self-confidence, it won't necessarily match your mental ideal, nor will it cause other people to act differently toward you. Before you decide to have SmartLipo, think carefully about your expectations and discuss them with your doctor during your consultation visit.

Liposuction is the most popular type of plastic surgery performed today, according to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. In conventional liposuction, the patient is placed under either local or general anesthesia. The surgeon makes a small incision and inserts a thin metal tube into the deep layer of fat underneath the skin and moves back and forth through the fat cells, breaking them up. When this process is complete, the surgeon uses a vacuum tube to suction out the fat into a flask. The procedure works well, but because it is relatively invasive, it can have some unpleasant side effects. For a more in-depth explanation of the procedure, read our article on How Liposuction Works.

If surgery isn't for you, there are a few new liposuction treatments on the market to choose from. The latest technology involves ultrasound-based techniques for recontouring the body. These cosmetic procedures can be performed in a doctor's office with a small dose of anesthetic -- no surgery required.

In Vaser LipoSelection, the patient is placed under general, local or intravenous sedation. The doctor creates a tiny incision in the area to be treated and fills it with a solution containing epinephrine, which shrinks blood vessels to reduce bleeding, and an anesthetic, which numbs the area. The doctor then inserts an ultrasonic probe that releases sound waves. The sound waves break up fatty tissue in areas such as the abdomen, arms, back, knees and hips -- or "love handles" -- while leaving nearby tissue intact. The doctor finishes the procedure by using suction to remove the emulsified fat.

A surgical complication is defined as any undesirable result of surgery. The most common complication of liposuction is a result that produces an unhappy patient. The most common cause of an unhappy patient is a patient's unrealistic expectations before surgery. Avoiding unrealistic expectations requires careful and accurate communication between patient and surgeon. This entire web site is dedicated to providing patients with information so that they can make a well-informed decision about having liposuction. Detailed information about specific complications is presented in the following pages entitled:

* An Overview of Liposuction Complications
* Excessive Liposuction
* Common & Minor Complications
* Rare & Severe Complications
* Drugs That Increase Bleeding
* Risks of Local Anesthesia
* Risks of General Anesthesia
* Risks of Ultrasonic Liposuction


Excessive Liposuction The greatest risks of liposuction are associated with the tendency of some surgeons to do too much surgery on the same day. The three types of excessive surgery include 1) removal of an excessive volume of fat by liposuction on a single day, 2) liposuction of an excessive number of body areas on the same day, 3) combinations of liposuction and other unrelated surgical procedures which involves excessive surgical trauma and prolonged exposure to general anesthesia. (See Excessive Liposuction).

Common & Minor Complications Common & minor complications are conditions that do not threaten a patient's life, normal body functions or the ability to work. These include superficial irregularities of the skin, seromas, hematomas, focal skin necrosis, allergic reactions to drugs, visible or disfiguring scars, discoloration of the skin, fainting during or after surgery, temporary bruising, numbness or nerve injury, and temporary adverse drug reactions. Most of these complications can be considered minor, however some may become quite serious. Post-liposuction syncope (fainting) the next morning at home, especially after urinating is not rare. This can be serious if the patient falls and experiences a head or neck injury. (See Common & Minor Complications).

Rare & Severe Complications Rare & severe complications associated with liposuction include problems with anesthesia, blood clots in the leg or lung, injury to the abdominal organs, excessive intravenous fluids, excessive blood loss, excessive loss of body heat (hypothermia), infections, allergic drug reactions, aspiration pneumonia (most likely under general anesthesia), cardiac arrest and potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias, permanent nerve damage, brain damage due to lack of oxygen under general anesthesia, and seizures. See Rare & Severe Complications.

Drugs That Increase Bleeding Drugs that increase bleeding, if taken by a patient soon before having liposuction, can cause liposuction complications such a hematoma (a large collection of blood trapped beneath the skin), or excessive bleeding that might require hospitalization. Among the more common drugs that can interfere with normal clotting of blood are aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), and warfarin (Coumadin). Even vitamin E, red wine, and some herbal remedies can cause prolonged bleeding. You are provided with a long list of prescription drugs and non-prescription drugs that interfere with bleeding (see Drugs that Increase Bleeding).

Risks of Local Anesthesia Lidocaine is the safest of local anesthetics available for liposuction. At lidocaine concentrations in the blood exceeding 6 milligrams/liter, patients might experience some toxicity. Blood concentrations of lidocaine in excess of 12 milligrams/liter can produce serious cardiac toxicity. The maximum recommended dosage of lidocaine for tumescent liposuction is 50 mg/kg (50 milligrams/kilogram of patient weight). The most extraordinary aspect of the tumescent technique is its unprecedented safety record when used as directed. Most liposuction surgeons know that it can be dangerous to give a patient a dosage of tumescent lidocaine that exceeds 50 mg/kg. All liposuction-related deaths have been associated with either the use of general anesthesia, or IV sedation, or lidocaine doses in far in excess of 75 mg/kg. The tumescent technique is dangerous in the hands of surgeons or anesthesiologists who have not had specific training in the technique. There has never been a reported death associated with tumescent liposuction totally by local anesthesia.

Risks of General Anesthesia General anesthesia for liposuction can be considered safe when 1) the general anesthesia is administered by a board certified anesthesiologist, 2) liposuction is not performed with other unrelated surgical procedures, and 3) there is no excessive liposuction. The most dangerous aspects of general anesthesia are respiratory depression and impairment of protective airway reflexes. The risks of general anesthesia include human error, unsuspected inherited hypersensitivity to anesthetic drugs, accidental overdose of anesthesia, any undetected airway disconnection or airway blockage. General anesthesia, which increases the risk of vomiting and impairs protective airway reflexes, can cause aspiration of stomach contents. Because general anesthesia impairs the ability to breathe, when a complication does occur it can lead to disaster.

Dangers of Ultrasonic Liposuction Ultrasonic Assisted Liposuction (UAL) requires the use of tumescent fluid and uses either a metal probe or metal paddle to deliver ultrasonic energy and heat into subcutaneous fat. Internal UAL has largely been abandoned because of the risk of full-thickness skin burns and severe scaring. The initial reports of internal UAL were unrealistically enthusiastic. Some authors did not report their complications, and others have learned of major UAL complications after publishing their articles. Because of insufficient proof of safety, UAL devices have not been approved by the FDA for use in doing liposuction.

Safety is a Relative Term It is impossible to prove that a surgical procedure is absolutely safe. On the other hand it is realistic and appropriate to compare two procedures and conclude that one is relatively safer than the other. Prospective liposuction patients should strive to understand the options that are available and choose the safest procedure.

Preventing Complications Preventing complications should be the most important concern of both patients and liposuction surgeons. Surgeons can reduce the risk of complications by proper selection of patients. Surgeons should avoid patients who have 1) unrealistic medical expectations, 2) a history of significant medical problems. Patients can reduce the risk of complications by 1) resisting the temptation to save time by attempting to do multiple unrelated surgical procedures along with liposuction, and 2) resisting the temptation to maximize the volume of fat removed on a single day. It is much safer to divide one very large liposuction procedure into two or more separate procedures done on separate days. Liposuction by general anesthesia can be considered safe, however, liposuction totally by local anesthesia is safer.

Because the SmartLipo cannula is so small, SmartLipo can be performed on stomach, love handles, legs, thighs, saddle bags, neck, arms and other trouble areas.

SmartLipo can be used anywhere traditional liposuction is used. Body regions that can benefit from the SmartLipo procedure include:

* Face
* Back
* Bra strap
* Mons pubis
* Breasts (gynecomastia)
* Thighs (saddle bags)
* Hips
* Buttocks
* Knees
* Upper arms
* Chin
* Cheeks
* Neck
* Areas of loose and flabby skin

It used to take weeks, or even months, of painful healing and limited mobility to recover from traditional liposuction. But with SmartLipo, recovery time is now fast and relatively painless. Patients often return to work within 1-2 days of undergoing the SmartLipo procedure.

Recovery starts the moment the surgeon turns off the SmartLipo laser. The patient is then escorted to a recovery room, where the local anesthesia can begin to wear off. SmartLipo recovery does not involve the nauseating, disorienting recovery general anesthesia typically brings about-which many people consider the most difficult element of recovering from traditional liposuction. In fact, patients are generally sent home within one hour of the SmartLipo procedure's completion.

The doctor will give you specific instructions on how to take care of yourself during recovery after the SmarLipo procedure, and he may give you a prescription for pain medication. You will also receive compression bandages, which are key to recovery. In addition to encouraging healing by preventing the shifting of bodily tissues, they can help prevent blood clots.

The goal of SmartLipo recovery is to achieve the best results while reducing the risk of infection. Infection can be the biggest risk during recovery. It can lead to unattractive scars, and possibly serious illness and even death. These rare contingencies, however, are dramatically reduced thanks to SmartLipo's cutting-edge technology.

The staff always takes a personal interest in your recovery. They will schedule recovery checkups where one of our doctors will examine your wounds to make sure they are healing properly. It is very important that you keep your appointments as you recover, since professional monitoring improves your chances of smooth, healthy, scar-free results.

SmartLipo recovery is made up of several stages. Minor bruising and numbness occur directly after the SmartLipo procedure, but they should disappear within days, if not hours, of leaving the recovery room. The swelling will drop within a week. Once the swelling disappears, your recovery is finished and you will be able view the SmartLipo surgery's final results.

SmartLipo…you're in; you're out; you're a brand new you.