Posts Tagged ‘smart lipo’

SmartLipo: How long does it take to see results?

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

With SmartLipo you must be a little patient.  Swelling will starts to go down after about two weeks. If you start doing massage about twice a week 10-14 days after the procedure, you will likely see the majority of your swelling gone by about 4-6 weeks.  Bruising with the SmartLipo is normally minimal and any bruising that is present will normally resolve within 2-4 weeks.

To help reduce swelling and bruising even faster, try oral arnica (500mg three times a day).  Note that numbness over the treated area also last several months.  Remember, it really takes about 3-4 months to really see something close to final results, and your skin and soft tissue will continue to remodel for over a year. If you are still not happy with the results at 3-4 months, it is time to take to your provider about a possible touch-up.

SmartLipo: better results from wearing compression garment longer?

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

There is very little evidence that compression garments improve final outcome after any type of lipo.  That being said they definitely reduce swelling  if worn for the first couple weeks of surgery (if the surgeon uses open drainage).  They also tend to make patients more comfortable and decrease the likelihood of dizziness during the first few days after the procedure.
After about two weeks you have probably gotten the most use out of your garment that you are going to get.  In fact garments that are too tight can actually prolong healing times because they crush the tiny lymphatic vessels trying to take fluid and damaged tissue out of the wound site.  To get the best results make sure that you have close follow-up and start getting post surgical massage therapy about twice a week starting 10-14 days after your procedure.

Slim lipo vs. Smartlipo: which is best?

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

The new SmartLipo MPX has two wavelengths (1064nm and 1320nm) vs. the Slim Lipo (920nm).  Although Palomars 920nm Slim Lipo may look like a good wavelength for fat on paper it actually may not work as well.  The reason is that the target is actually the membrane around the fat (a mixture of both water and lipid) and not the fat itself.  When we hit the membrane with the right wavelength the fat cell breaks apart.  The contents of the broken fat cell are either aspirated during the last part of the procedure or are broken down and removed by the immune system.  Barry DiBernardo in New York did some nice work showing these broken down contents did not increase the level of fats in the blood stream and therefore it is very unlikely that any remnants missed by aspiration are remanufactured into functional fat cells.

Due to power and the size of the laser fiber, the SmartLipo MPX is able to cut through more fat in less time than the SlimLipo.  A head to head clinical study would be extremely beneficial to sort out the actual differences between the two devices.  All in all both machines can be used effectively for fat reduction but the SmartLipo has had much more peer reviewed research and thus is understood better.

LAL (laser assisted lipo) has some significant advantages over other types of lipo. When comparing to traditional lipo with a 4-6mm cannula, there tends to be less damage to the connective tissue with LAL.  This is probably due to the smaller cannula size with LAL.  Although it is somewhat provider dependent, the LAL devices tend to cause less swelling, less bruising and thus less downtime likely due to the fact that they coagulate blood vessels during the procedure.  Also, to date there have been no reported cases of superficial vascular changes (unlike with traditional superficial liposuction and ultrasound assisted lipo).