There is an interesting article in today’s New York Times about the decline of cosmetic surgery.  One of the statistics relevant to this blog is the decline of the number of liposuction procedures. According to the report, liposuction fell by 19% in 2009, which is quite a drop. The main reason attributed for the decline was the tough economy situation that US is in right now. Since many people consider cosmetic surgery to be a luxury item, they would hold off their ‘purchase’ until the financial situation recovers.

However, an interesting fact is that there was a rise in more obsure procedures. Calf augmentation for example had about 10 more procedure being done in 2009 compared to 2008. For those who do not know what is calf augmentation, it is a operation procedure to improve the shape and contour of your calf area by inserting a silicon implant. According to the report, calf augmentation is meant demanded by ballet dancers who want to have a good looking calf shape to help them win ballet tournaments. This fact is interesting to me as I didn’t know that there was such a demand.

Anyway, it prompted my interest in this procedure and I did some research to know more about it. Here are some basic info you might be interested in knowing:

Calf augmentation prices: USD$3,649

Calf augmentation benefits: This procedure helps to contour the shape of the calf, making item look more evenly shaped as well as creating a muscular feel.

Calf augmentation recovery period: The recovery period for this procedure takes about 7-10 days during which it advisable not to do any physical activities. After this recovery period, patients can resume their normal work activities. After four to six weeks, the patient can begin light exercises like light jogging etc to build up the muscles in their legs.

Calf augmentation risk: All procedures have risk and this is no exception. The biggest risk is in the shifting of the implants. If that happens for whatever reasons, patients will need to quickly see their surgeon and most likely will have to undergo another operation to adjust back the implant.

Calf augmentation alternative: Beside using implants, a patient can also select to use fat drafting. This involves using liposuction to remove excess fats from other parts of a patients, and after purifying, inject the fats back into the calf area to contour its shape. This procedure has no risk in terms of implants shifting their position but the downside is the possibility of a asymmetric effects on the calf if one side abosrbed more fats than the other.

There are other interesting things in the report which I will like to blog about in future posts. Thanks for taking the time to read my post on all thing liposuction.

“How much does laser lipo cost?”

“Is laser liposuction cheap?”

“What are the laser liposuction prices?”

These are all the common questions you have heard people asking with regards to the cost of laser liposuction. Many people understand the pros and cons of laser lipo but they worry about its cost. Their worry is not unfounded. The price of laser liposuction is not cheap by any means. However, they are cheaper than traditional liposuction. In this article, we will look at what are the factors that affect the costs of laser liposuction across different regions.

Right fro the beginning, you need to know that laser liposuction cost between $1,500 and $15,000. The range is wide and the varies by region, the skill and experience level of the liposuction surgeon, the type of laser used in the surgery, and the size and number of areas designated for liposuction surgery.

Regions play an important part in affecting laser liposuction costs due to the demand and supply issue. Some regions have more qualified surgeons  and more demand, causing the prices of laser lipo to be lower. Other regions have few doctors, which means that you need to pay a lot more for the same procedure. So, if you want to look for cheap laser liposuction, do a check on a region’s supply of qualified surgeons. These areas tend to be cheaper.

Another factor in determining the costs of laser liposuction is of course the experience and skill level of the surgeons. We all know that good surgeon fetch much more than newly graduated or inexperienced doctors. How much premium you want to pay for having an experienced surgeon is up to you. My advice is to go for the middle range. Don’t need to go the really famous surgeons but at least pick one that done laser liposuction a couple of times. Just ask for the record for the surgeons and you will know their experience level.

The area where you need laser assisted liposuction is also a factor in determining the price that you are going to pay. Abdomen would typically cost an average of around $3,500 to $4,500. The back will be priced at around $2,500 to $3,000. Facial laser liposuction including the chin, the neck and the face would cost around $2,500. For Knees and thighs, you would need to pay an average between  would be $2,500 to $4000.

Finally, you might want to note the pricing structure of the surgeons as this will alao have an impact on your laser liposuction cost. For example, many surgeons charge a flat rate for each area of the body, generally with a reduced rate for additional areas. So, for people looking to want laser assisted liposuction in many areas, such a pricing structure can save you more money.

(Updated: I have written a second post on laser liposuction cost)
(Updated march 2010: A new post on affordable liposuction for those looking for cheap liposuction services)

Overall, the price structure is not too different from other kinds of cosmetic surgery. For example, this site gives very good information on breast implants cost. From the figures, you can see that it is quite comparable to the cost incurred in doing laser lipo.

In summary, there is no such thing as cheap laser liposuction. However, the prices do vary quite a bit and you can save quite a substantial sum of money if you do some research, including calling the hospitals for their rates. If you do some homework, you can reduce your laser liposuction cost.

Benefits of laser assisted liposuction

One obvious benefit of laser liposuction is the increased rate of recovery. Patents using this technique can cut to one to two days of recovery time and decreases blood loss during the procedure. In fact, some test results have shown that after surgery, patients can leave immediately or after a couple of hours. For some, they can even return to normal activity with only small discomfort. In some of the cases the subject was requested to wear a compression garment for a week.

More importantly, laser assisted liposuction also reduces the post-operative pain. In order words, you suffer less when the operation is done through laser, rather than through traditional matters. The reason is because laser assisted liposuction only targets the “yellow material”, or fat, in the body, allowing the body to absorb up to 500 mL on its own without any suction.

Finally, laser assisted liposuction can have the positive effect of tightening the skin. This means the patient need not go for other operations that are designed to ‘tuck away’ the excessive skins. Less operations mean less money and less pain.

Disadvantages of laser assisted liposuction

Laser liposuction is not really suited for large surface areas. Too large an area would mean a more intense laser with longer duration, which could result in the skins being burnt. This means people with large layers of fats need not apply. For this group of people, having a healthy diet and regular exercise is a better way to go. For laser assisted liposuction, it is more suited for the following:

• chin liposuction
• neck liposuction
• facial liposuction
• tumescent liposuction

The other disadvantage of laser assisted liposuction is its costs. This is the result of new technologies and new processes. New equipment have to bought and training has to be conducted for these new procedures. All these will drive the initial costs high. However, I expect the cost to come down over time and this disadvantage might not be relevant in a couple of years.  a result of the “minimally invasive” cannula (Hui 2008).

Conclusions

We should recognise that laser liposuction is not a magic cure for obesity. In fact, I recommend that  healthy people consider this procedure to remove fats in difficult areas.  Do bear in mind that surgery always possesses certain health risks, even though the risk factors may be low. Hence, to repeat, only if you have a well balanced diet and exercise regiment but has a couple trouble spots that won’t disappear, then the ideal solution would be laser assisted liposuction.

Laser liposuction Benefits

The best thing about laser liposuction surgery is that it is taking the suction out of the equation. In regular liposuction, a wand is placed under the skin which vibrates at very high frequency to liquefy the fat. That liquefied fat is then suck out with a small vacuum hose and discarded. If that sounds really painful and awkward, it is. Compared to how straight  laser liposuction is, traditional liposuction is a bit messy.

In laser liposuction surgery , instead of using vibration energy to liquefy the fat, light energy is used to instantly zap the fat cells. A laser, which is an intense, focused collection of light energy, is used to instantly vaporize the cells at which it is aimed. The small blood vessels that are broken and leak blood during regular liposuction are instantly cauterized by the laser during laser liposuction.

What does all that mean? Well, for one thing, there will be definitely be less bleeding and bruising with laser liposuction versus regular liposuction. People who like this approach also comments that laser actually helps to tighten the surrounding skin, meaning that laser liposuction surgery does not result in baggy, excess skin sometimes present after traditional liposuction.

Another strong benefit is that laser assisted liposuction is that it can be performed under local anesthesia rather than general anesthesia. This means that the area to be treated is completely numbed by injecting the area with an anesthetic while the patient is awake during the procedure. Patients can sit upright or stand during the laser liposuction procedure. In certain cases this is highly advantageous. For example, if belly fat is being removed, having the patient stand during the procedure will allow the surgeon to see how gravity layers the fat in the abdominal region. When the patient is standing, the surgeon can target all of the fat areas appropriately. Laser liposuction may not be for everyone.

Finally, the entire procedure for laser liposuction is relatively brief as it lasts for only 30 to 60 minutes. The recovery is quite quick, also, even compared to regular liposuction. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis meaning the patient can arrive at and leave the office on the same day. In fact, it is not unusual for most people to  return to work after 24 hours.

Laser liposuction risks

While it is quite safe, laser assisted  liposuction is not suitable for patients with diabetes, liver or kidney problems or blood clotting problems.  Also, it is also more suitable for areas that do not contain much fat such as the inner thighs, face and neck, chin and other smaller regions. This is because laser liposuction  may not remove as much fat as the patient would like. For users who might want to remove large amounts of fats,  traditional liposuction may be more appropriate.

Updated:  Somewhat related to this.  Laser treatment for acne is also getting popular. This site has more information on acne laser treatments.

Before you go off thinking laser liposuction is a miracle drug, don’t. Results for laser liposuction before and after the surgery  are not instant. In fact, it will likely take 6 to 8 weeks for the fulls benefits of laser liposuction to be seen completely. Laser liposuction is one of the newer fat removal techniques and may offer certain advantages to traditional liposuction for some patients. For larger collections of fat, traditional liposuction may still be the best approach. Talk to your plastic surgeon to find out more about both techniques.