Reflections on Beauty

Patients who have liposuction understand that it’s a body sculpting method to remove discrete areas of unwanted fat, not a weight-loss method. They are generally at goal weight or within 10 lbs of it. However, since we’re in the midst of the holiday period, you might want to know what could happen if you did gain weight after liposuction.

During liposuction, fat cells are permanently removed. They won’t grow back or be replaced. That means, for example, if you gain weight after liposuction of the thighs, an increase in weight won’t be reflected in the thigh area(s) where liposuction was performed. However, fat cells in other parts of the body will enlarge instead. If you’ve never had weight-gain in your tummy, for example, it could occur after liposuction of your thighs because it, essentially, cannot occur in the thighs.

Remember, holidays are for fun, family, traditions and outings. Enjoy yourself, but be careful to avoid gaining weight that will last long after the holidays!

Here are some tips to maintain your weight during the holidays whether or not you’ve had lipo!

• Drink more water! Keeps you full, hydrated and makes your skin very happy!
• Beware of calories in mixed drinks. A Cosmopolitan has 150-200 calories, compared with an 8 oz white wine spritzer, which has only 40.
• Take advantage of shopping for exercise! Park far from the doors, walk up the escalators and wear your jogging shoes when you do holiday shopping.
• Don’t neglect your sleep—studies prove that your body will react to sleep deprivation by increasing your appetite!

Did you know that liposuction was invented in 1974 by an Italian gynecologist? It’s true. It was then brought to America, but it wasn’t until the 80’s that tumescent liposuction was created, giving patients a softer and safer method of body sculpting by adding salt water to the process. Like every medical discovery or device, time brings more technological advances. The latest and safest liposuction available today is provided by laser technology.

What’s the difference? There are key differences in function, safety, discomfort, results and recovery time.

Let’s talk about function first.
Although the function of both traditional and laser liposuction is to remove fat deposits, laser lipo is best for mild to moderate fat removal plus skin tightening, while traditional, surgical liposuction can eliminate larger amounts of fat. Traditional liposuction cannot tighten the skin like laser body contouring can.

There are big differences in discomfort and safety between traditional and laser liposuction.
Discomfort is higher in traditional liposuction, hands down. Incisions must be made and then sutured closed. Sometimes drains are also inserted and removed a few days after the procedure. With laser body contouring, the cannula is much thinner, often requiring no incisions at all, just tiny insertion points that will heal with nothing more than a steri-strip or a small band-aid. Traditional lipo usually requires going under general anesthesia, making the procedure more expensive and adding the risk of anesthesia-related complications. Laser lipo is performed under local anesthesia; you’ll be awake, alert and comfortable during the procedure.

The differences in results from laser vs traditional liposuction
Laser liposuction provides a level of skin tightening that does not occur with traditional liposuction. The high-energy beams of laser liposuction penetrate into the skin and heats up the innermost structures, stimulating new collagen and elastin growth in the skin. This creates better skin function and appearance, which improves over time. Less fat + better skin is, in our minds, the definition of a great result! Here are some laser lipo photos that show the excellent results one can get without surgery.

Another difference between laser and traditional liposuction is the timing of results. Traditional liposuction patients see results immediately. Laser liposuction patients will also see a change immediately, with more changes occurring over several months, as the collagen and elastin proliferate to smooth out the skin.

Recovery is vastly different
Laser liposuction is, by and large, much better tolerated than traditional liposuction. There’s no nausea and headache from general anesthesia, as laser lipo is done under local anesthesia. There are no large incisions and sutures. Also, there is far less bruising with laser liposuction. Generally, patients feel able to be up and about almost immediately, if not immediately, from laser body contouring.

Which type of liposuction is best for your needs?
The best thing is to talk to your physician about which form of liposuction will best help you achieve your body contouring goals.  With its ease of tolerability and minimal downtime, laser liposuction has become the far most popular option with patients at Reflections. You can find more information about the differences between these two procedures on our site, including frequently asked questions about laser liposuction.

We were surprised to learn that a number of our regular patients haven’t heard about Thermage.

If you’re suffering with signs of aging, such as sagging around the jaw line or crêpe-y skin on your neck, the Thermage radio-frequency procedure might be just the thing you need to avoid a facelift for as long as possible. Thermage can also be used on the abdomen to tighten up loose belly skin after weight loss, childbearing or simply aging. In fact, Thermage can be used anywhere you need a better contour and smoother, tighter skin.

Thermage works by applying radio-frequency waves that heat up the collagen beneath your skin’s surface. It doesn’t hurt and there’s no downtime involved. It takes only about an hour per treatment, so you can get right back to your schedule.

You’ll see some change immediately in the skin’s tightness, with more to come in the ensuing weeks and months—improvements continue up to six months.

Thermage can be applied on the face, hands, abdomen, arms, thighs and buttocks. We also use Thermage to enhance the results of laser liposuction because of its ability to tighten skin.

To review, Thermage is

• A non-invasive way to lift, tighten and shape almost any area of the body
• Not surgery and not an injection
• Painless and fast
• A great way to eliminate unwanted areas of fat and improve the appearance of cellulite

Of course, these are just the basics.  We’ve seen great results with Thermage and encourage you to learn more about Thermage in New Jersey at our office and check out the before and after pictures.  You can also contact our office for more information or to request a complimentary consultation with one of our physicians.

The new year will see a new frontier in body shaping. From innovative new uses for ultrasound in fat reduction, to the use of fat-cell cooling, patients now have a number of non-surgical options for body sculpting.

There are a slew of cutting-edge devices on the horizon, all with the ability to bring changes to body and skin, completely non-invasively. Some of these are already surfacing, like the Zeltiq device, which uses cryolipolysis (cooling of the fat cells) to remove fat cells from the body without damaging the skin, muscles or nerves. Zeltiq is currently FDA approved for skin cooling and should soon receive clearance for fat removal.

This and other devices will be made widely available this year and represent a clear indication of where aesthetics is heading. The two things our patients are most concerned with are minimal downtime and getting great results. Devices like Zeltiq will allow us to help them enjoy a meaningful difference in their appearance and get on with their lives quickly.

Jeff Russell, Executive Director of the IAPAM echos this forecast, particularly regarding fat reduction. Jeff envisions that Syneron Velashape will continue to provide “new options for those who have localized fat deposits and are looking for minor re-shaping of their body.”

However, Jeff adds, that for more “effective contouring, the laser-assisted lipolysis machines like Palomar SlimLipo offer the best results. We would all like a ‘zero-invasive’ way to re-shape the body, but the results just aren’t there yet with these completely non-invasive options,” concludes Russell

At Reflections, we feel that technological advancements in fat removal equipment will continue to fuel the popularity of body shaping treatments. From Zeltiq to Zerona to Velashape, these remarkably non-invasive options will re-position body contouring as one of the more popular aesthetic medicine treatments.

To see more of what this year will bring, check out the IAPAM’s Top 5 Aesthetic Trends for 2010, where our own Dr. Chasin shares his thoughts about about body sculpting.