Smartlipo (Laser Liposuction) In Las Vegas

Dr. Smith will often use a laser liposuction machine called SmartLipo to achieve your desired result from liposuction.

Unlike traditional liposuction, which uses the very slim rod known as cannula and an aspirator to suck the fat cells from your body, SmartLipo uses a laser to destroy the fat cells while they’re still in the body and then Dr. Smith uses the cannula to suction them out.

The Benefits of SmartLipo

• Using a laser in liposuction surgery has three main benefits over traditional liposuction:*
• The laser’s heat may actually help tighten and ‘shrink” your skin to better “fit” your smaller body part/area. Older individuals or people who have skin damage due to sun exposure, smoking, drinking, etc. often lose elasticity, making it harder for your skin to “snap back.” But the SmartLipo laser can help provide more retraction than traditional liposuction.*
• SmartLipo is less traumatic to your body because Dr. Smith kills the fat cells first, allowing him to remove them without having to scrape them from your body like in traditional liposuction.*
• The SmartLipo laser also is able to remove fibrous fat, such as the fat found in gynecomastia (male breast tissue), or the fat found in calves. It’s also better for liposuction on the neck (submental) because the laser tightens the neck’s skin better than traditional liposuction does.*

How SmartLipo Works

Dr. Smith makes one or more small incisions of no more than ¼-inch in length and then inserts a thin laser fiber through them. Once the laser is turned on it produces a very hot beam of light, which destroys fat cells. Once the cells have died, Dr. Smith inserts a regular liposuction cannula through the same incision and suctions out the dead/damaged fat cells. (Please note that the most fat removed from any one patient at any one time is no more than about eight pounds of fat.)

Recovery From SmartLipo

Recovery from Smart Lipo is similar to recovery from any liposuction procedure. Dr. Smith’s surgery team will instruct you to wear a compression garment for two to four weeks or so afterwards. The garment looks like a pair of bicycle shorts – for thigh and abdomen liposuction – or long, tight sleeves for your arms or calves. You will need to wear the garment almost all the time, removing if only for short periods or to wash it.

Smart Lipo isn’t as “intense” as traditional liposuction (the laser doesn’t “scrape” the fat away as the cannula), so your pain and swelling/bruising may be less and any pain you have should be gone in just a few days.*

You should be able to walk about – gently – just a few hours after the procedure, although Dr. Smith will recommend that you take it easy physically for a few days.*

Risks of SmartLipo

• All surgeries provide some risk to a patient, and SmartLipo is no different. Some of the risks associated with SmartLipo include:
• Adverse reactions from the anesthesia.
• Scarred incisions, although the incisions are very small and any scars will be small and should fade over time. In addition, Dr. Smith will work to place his incisions in natural folds of your skin, helping to hide them.
• Loose skin can occur in patients who have a large amount of fat removed and/or don’t have much elasticity in the skin.
• There is a very small risk of burns from the laser.

Dr. Smith and his surgical team will work diligently to ensure you stay safe during surgery and that we provide optimal results based on your goals.

Scheduling an Appointment For SmartLipo

If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of SmartLipo, or to schedule an appointment in our office, contact us at (702) 838-2455. Patients who live far from Las Vegas may arrange a consultation via phone or e-mail.