Feeling Heat with Laser Liposuction

By Jay Cindy

Laser liposuction has earned accolades, or at least conveyed the impression, that it is simple business. You can undergo the procedure with local anesthesia, and then reap the benefits you hoped to reap with the procedure (lost fat, tighter and smoother skin, and others) and get back to your life, as you know it the same day.

No surgery comes risk free. In addition, while it sounds like a simple zap and done, laser liposuction-as numerous medical observers and practitioners like to remind us-is surgery. It has its own kind of risks as a member of the suction-oriented surgical family, but the laser itself adds a few more to the picture no matter how simple the operation seems.

"Most people of course do perceive it to be the very easy," writes Florida therapist Caroline Bourke, "and this kind of thinking has allowed some doctors to offer their (often untrained) services to people looking for a quick fix to their fat related problems. This in fact is one of the biggest laser liposuction risks that you must be aware about and then you need to ensure that you do not fall into such traps."

"Most people of course do perceive it to be the very easy," writes Florida therapist Caroline Bourke, "and this kind of thinking has allowed some doctors to offer their (often untrained) services to people looking for a quick fix to their fat related problems. This in fact is one of the biggest laser liposuction risks that you must be aware about and then you need to ensure that you do not fall into such traps."

"Lipo sculpture with or without the laser is a surgical procedure," writes Dr. Brooke Seckel, a Massachusetts plastic surgeon who specializes in facial aging correction, "and as with heart surgery, brain surgery or any other type of surgery, if I am having surgery I am going to do my homework and find the best board certified surgeon I can find to perform my operation . . . If you are considering any type of plastic surgery do your homework. Read more about the procedure you are interested in. Study the bio and credentials of the board certified plastic surgeons in your area. Be an informed consumer."

That said, some of the risks otherwise include loose skin. It is thought to be the major impediment to surgical fat removal, with older patients in particular, but it is also thought to be uncommon with laser liposuction. Unless the procedure is performed by an inexperienced or technically weak practitioner.

The heat element used in the procedure carries a risk, too. It may be laser liposuction's major advance, but if it is used too aggressively or too carelessly, or if the heat fiber conducting the laser is too close to the skin, the risks of burns, damaged, or lost skin rise accordingly

In laser liposuction, the fiber is also placed just beneath the skin, opening a risk of infection. Thus, as with any surgical procedure, sterile conditions and antibiotic support are critical. Laser liposuction also carries a lesser bleeding risk than standard liposuction, but the risk remains nevertheless. In addition, the common liposuction anesthetic, lidocaine, is risky if administered improperly or excessively. Therefore, your need to investigate and settle on only a well-trained, well-experienced surgeon for laser liposuction is just as important as it is for any surgery you may require. - 30516

About the Author:

Sign Up for our Free Newsletter

Enter email address here