LASER LIPOLYSIS
As more women and men want to look and feel better about themselves, body contouring and lipo-sculpture continue to grow in popularity, making liposuction the most popular cosmetic surgery performed today.
Lasers are the latest additions to the modern liposuction armamentarium. There are two distinct technologies currently in use: external (cold) lasers and internal lasers. Contrary to popular belief and marketing claims, these technologies, in their current state, are designed to be used as tools in conjunction with conventional liposuction surgery and are not intended to be used as stand-alone therapies for targeted fat reduction.
External cold laser liposuction is based on technology developed in the 1960s and marketed by Erchonia under the name Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT). The technology, which has received FDA approval for both liposuction and the management of musculoskeletal pain, involves irradiation of liposuction target areas for a short period of time immediately after the instillation of tumescent local anesthesia and before the commencement of the liposuction procedure itself. The immediate effect of the laser is to produce temporary pores in the cell membranes of adipocytes allowing fat to migrate into the extracellular space – a process which is perceived by the surgeon as softening of the targeted fat and which expedites the speed of fat removal. Secondary benefits include reductions in postoperative pain, swelling and edema.
Developed in Europe and South America in the 1990s, laser lipolysis was first performed with a pulsed 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser (SmartLipo, Cynosure; LipoLite, Syneron), and subsequently with a continuous wave 980-nm diode laser (Pharaon, Osyris, Hellemmes, France) and a pulsed 1320-nm Nd:YAG laser (CoolLipo, CoolTouch). The microscopic effects of laser lipolysis include adipocyte rupture, coagulation of small blood vessels and reorganization of the reticular dermis – effects which may translate into reduced bruising in the acute recovery phase and the ability to promote skin tightening.
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