A relatively new, innovative procedure that is minimally invasive and utilizes lasers to dissolve fat is turning into a popular alternative to the tummy tuck for those looking to tighten their excess skin.
Laser liposuction minimizes risks associated with traditional cosmetic surgeries, like the tummy tuck, thanks to the minimally invasive procedure’s benefit of producing collagen, an essential protein that gives tone and texture to the skin. By using one wavelength to break down fat, and a different one to cause an artificial burn that spurs the creation of collagen, this procedure appears to offer several advantages over traditional liposuction. The laser also causes a reaction in pre-existing collagen that prompts it to contract, tightening the skin further.
These added benefits provide patients with one less worry; after fat -reduction surgery, people are usually left with sagging skin and typically have to undergo a tummy tuck to correct these features.
While traditional liposuction has been hugely successful as one of the leading cosmetic procedures on the market, some patients, especially those considering treating the abdominal section, avoid it out of fear of sagging skin. Many even claim that they would rather stay the way they are than eliminate the fat but be left with extra flab.
A research study presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 38th Annual Scientific Meeting examined more than 2,000 patients who underwent laser-assisted liposuction. Whereas most people “who have standard liposuction are discouraged because often the skin sags after the fat is removed,” the study’s lead author explained how laser lipolysis “can be used on many parts of the body and results in excellent sculpting with tight skin.”
When traditional liposuction and laser lipolysis are combined, you get further benefits, one of them being that this combination can reduce and eliminate more fat than both procedures by themselves. The lasers concentrate on fat without damaging other tissues, muscles, or the skin, which helps with the recovery process as well.
Laser lipo is considered merely a minimally invasive procedure, which is safer and has fewer side effects than a tummy tuck. Be sure not to confuse this method with noninvasive laser liposuction methods, processes that are nothing like liposuction but commonly are referred to as such.
Although the bonuses of laser lipo seem endless, Dr. Jeffrey Kenkel, a professor of plastic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, explained that he does not believe the evidence of skin tightening is conclusive. The degree of skin tightening, he said, is not significant compared with traditional liposuction. He added that he has some safety concerns regarding the high temperatures of the lasers used during the procedure. Future studies will clear up these potential disadvantages in the coming years.