Cosmetic surgeons aim lasers to
melt away fat
Taken From USA Today [Visit Site]

Doctors for years have used lasers to zap unwanted hair, make broken capillaries disappear, resurface skin, remove brown spots. Now lasers are being used to melt fat.

Laser-assisted lipolysis, or laser liposuction, could be the next big thing in fat-busting procedures. Liposuction is already the No. 1 surgical cosmetic procedure in the USA: More than 400,000 were performed in 2006, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery says.

"I see lipo going through the roof, becoming even more popular," says Robert Gotkin, a Long Island cosmetic surgeon who has used a recently approved laser called Smartlipo to liquefy the fat cells of more than 50 patients, male and female, since December. Neil Sadick, a Manhattan cosmetic surgeon who has performed nearly two dozen laser liposuctions over the past six months, says it's inevitable that laser lipo will spread, given that more patients are seeking less-invasive procedures. "It's the next generation of liposuction with better results and less trauma to the body," Sadick says.

Conventional liposuction — in which the patient is opened up and solid chunks of fat are sucked out — can be costly and painful. Other methods of removing fat, such as ultrasound waves, also can leave the patient bruised and in recovery for weeks.

The appeal of laser liposuction is that it's minimally invasive and performed under local anesthesia or oral sedation, with virtually no pain or bruising; normal activities can be resumed within 48 hours. The surgeon makes a tiny incision, inserts a laser fiber probe — smaller than a strand of uncooked angel-hair pasta — just under the surface of the skin and aims it at fat.

"You're using the laser to rupture fat cells, like bursting bubbles," Gotkin says. For small areas, the liquefied fat cells are reabsorbed by the body; for larger areas, the fat is aspirated.

"I always wanted (liposuction), but I was afraid of scarring and pain and recovery time," says Renata Morawiec-loj, 39, of East Stroudsburg, Pa., who went to Gotkin recently to treat her abdominal area. "When I woke up, I asked the doctor if he's done, and I couldn't believe it — I got up and started dancing."

Another advantage over conventional lipo: body "sculpting." "There's immediate tightening, because the body's response to the (laser) heating induces new collagen formation," says Sadick, president of the Cosmetic Surgery Foundation.

The cost of laser lipo is comparable to conventional liposuction — about $4,000 to $8,000. So far, no patient has reported negative after effects."I felt no pain, had no bruising — none — no downtime," says Jorgilina Abreu, 46, a New Jersey resident who went to Sadick for laser lipo on her abdomen. "I didn't take painkillers, and the little cut is so small that no one would even know it was there." Smartlipo, made by laser manufacturer Cynosure, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in November; approval of a second laser by a different company is pending. Similar lasers have been in use in Europe for years, says Cynosure spokeswoman Gretchen Bender.

The New Lipo: Has Fat Met Its Match?

By Allison Adato - Taken From People Magazine [Visit Site]

The FDA Approves a New Fat-Zapping Technique That Doctors Say Will Help Patients Lose a Size or Two—fast!—Without Leaving Behind Stitches or Saggy Skin

Colleen Donovan doesn't mind trading a little pain for beauty. The Long Beach, N.Y., esthetician had breast implants put in 14 years ago and regularly gives clients glycolic acid facial peels. But despite always wanting "thighs that don't touch," she had never considered liposuction, used to sculpt targeted areas of the body. "Lipo scared me—I don't like the dimpling, puckering effect," says Donovan, 37, referring to a sometime side effect of the procedure, which can leave behind unsightly pockets where the fat had been. And so despite her considerable efforts—she bikes, swims, and works out three times a week with a trainer—she had all but resigned herself to the idea that her inner thighs would maintain permanent contact.

But then last fall, Donovan got a phone call that seemed to bring with it the promise of the body she wanted—without any of the drawbacks she worried about. It was from Dr. Bruce Katz, a dermatologist whom she knew professionally, asking if she'd like to take part in the trial study for a new device called SmartLipo. Done under local anesthesia, the procedure is known generically as laser lipolysis and uses a laser light to zap away fat—yielding, he told her, better, faster, less painful results than from traditional lipo. "I thought it would satisfy something that I've always wanted to change about my body," Donovan recalls. "I was so excited."

After all, who hasn't dreamed of unwanted fat vanishing as easily as that second serving of Häagen-Dazs? Granted, SmartLipo doesn't work quite like that—but with the Food and Drug Administration's Oct. 31 announcement that it had approved the use of the device in this country, many are saying that, for now, SmartLipo may be as close as humans can come to that fat-melting fantasy. In fact, as soon as the FDA gave the okay, Katz, the first U.S. doctor trained in the technique (there are about 100 around the world), began "booking five or six surgeries a day," he says, with "rock stars, actors, and business people calling," as well as patients from as far away as Kuwait. Already, Katz's schedule is filled through mid-February, and there is also a waiting list of doctors who want to learn how to use their own SmartLipo machines—the first new FDA-approved lipo technology in four years—which sell for $75,000.

[Read More]

ELLEBEAUTYBODYHEALTH
(Taken from ELLE Magazine) [View original article]

Katz and other doctors are experimenting with "laser lipo," although there's no actual liposuction involved. A laser fiber (a long cord with a laser beam in it) is threaded through the fat via a cut beneath the chin. Once in place, the laser, an Nd:YAG, is fired once, essentially vaporizing the fat. (The photo-acoustic effect from the laser causes the cells to burst.) "The fat is absorbed by the lymph system and excreted like other metabolic by-products," Katz says. The appeal of laser lipo, he adds, is that there's no downtime and, unlike the Titan, it requires only a single visit. "It's a one-shot deal," he says. "Literally and figuratively."