liposuction

   Expect to hear a lot in the next few months about Liposonix, the completely noninvasive technology for localized fat reduction with focused ultrasound. It was FDA-cleared this year, and will be launched early 2012 but we are very pleased to announce that we have it now. Since I was the founding member of the medical advisory board when the company was founded several years ago, I have been involved in the development of the technology and will continue with post-approval clinical studies.

It’s been a long road with Liposonix since we first began to develop the technology here in the Seattle area several years ago, and the FDA’s approval last week for marketing in the U.S. was a long awaited milestone. Liposonix uses high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) energy to “permanently destroy targeted fat” below the skin.

   Liposuction, whether with laser as in “Smart Lipo” or VASER (ultrasound-assist) has long been promoted as a means of permanent reduction of localized fat. We know it isn’t for weight loss or skin tightening (despite claims to the contrary) and that liposuction is surgery even if the skin incisions are tiny and the operation is done under local anesthesia. But a handful of recent studies are suggesting that even if the fat doesn’t come back to the same area, it just finds new hangouts.

It’s a confusing world out there for patients considering liposuction: VASER, laser (smart lipo, slim lipo), power lipo, tickle lipo, water jet lipo, you name it, someone has a clever name and a marketing campaign for it. But a recent survey of board-certified plastic surgeons was revealing: fewer than 4% advocated laser-assisted liposuction, attributing its awareness with the public to marketing. So if smart lipo is so smart, why do the experts shun it?