Most of us don’t have a lot of experience in evaluating different cosmetic surgeons and making an educated choice about which liposuction center to choose. Here are some tips on what factors to use in determining the best choice for you:
1) General vs Local Anesthesia: Traditional Liposuction uses general anesthesia where the patient is completely unconscious whereas Tumescent Liposuction and Laser Liposuction use local anesthesia where the patient is awake. Often, although the patient is awake, they are given oral Valium and pain pills to help relax the patient. If you have a very low pain threshold and have the budget to pay the extra $2000 for a surgery center and an anesthesiologist , then general anesthesia may be the route for you. General anesthesia has a higher risk to the patient. Most of our patients choose local anesthesia which is less expensive, much safer, and for most patients they do just fine with local anesthesia.
2) What kind of Liposuction do I need (tumescent, traditional, laser liposuction, vaser liposuction?): There are many types of liposuction these days, but they are broken into two categories based on the type of anesthesia used (discussed above). Traditional Liposuction is done under general anesthesia. All other types of liposuction are usually done under local anesthesia (or conscious sedation). Tumescent liposuction is liposuction done under local anesthesia. Vaser and Laser Liposuction (internal laser liposuction) are subsets of Tumescent liposuction.
3) What are the two types of Laser Liposuction?
External Laser Liposuction only uses a laser on top of the skin. The External Laser Liposuction options are Coolsculpting and Zerona. These are completely non-invasive techniques to remove fat, but they are significantly less effective than internal laser liposuction procedures (because they don’t actually suction out the unwanted fat).
Internal Laser Liposuction is a subset of Tumescent Liposuction. Some examples of Internal Laser Liposuction options include Slimlipo, Smartlipo, and other similar lasers. With Internal Laser Liposuction there are tiny skin incisions and after numbing the area, the surgeon will enter into the subcutaneous fat layer and use the laser cannula in that area. After the fat is liquefied and the skin is tightened the fat will be suctioned and removed.
Internal Laser Liposuction is much more effective than External Laser Liposuction because the laser cannula is making more direct contact with the subcutaneous fat and because the liquefied fat is actually suctioned out and removed from the body.
American Lipo Centers offers Internal Laser Liposuction and Tumescent Liposuction.
4) How do I choose a Liposuction Center? First of all, please do not simply call every lipo center on Google and ask them their price and choose the lowest price. This may work in shopping for a flat screen TV, but price comparison shopping is not the way to choose a cosmetic surgeon. Of course, you should find a center that fits your budget, but only after you’ve determined that you’ve found an experienced surgeon who has done a lot of liposuction.
Good luck in your search and feel free to come in for a free consultation and an honest assessment of whether you are or are not a good candidate for laser liposuction.