Web Log - August 2009 - Liposuction Advice
Footbridge over Boise River
Every few years, a new technology is used to assist liposuction. Some of them are helpful, all of them are expensive, and all of them are potentially dangerous. With all craftsmen (surgeons and woodworkers included), the quality of the result is largely determined not by the tool, but by who is using it.
The newest technology out there is laser assisted liposuction (eg. SmartLipo). The idea is to melt fat with the heat of a laser and then suction the liquified product out with smaller cannulas (tubes) than are normally needed. On patients with relatively small areas to be improved and in the right hands, this approach can give very good results. I have chosen not to use it thus far as I do not feel the additional costs and risks are necessary to achieve a good result in my patients. One exception is the minimal gynecomastia patient ( enlarged male breasts ) and I have referred these men elsewhere. I am always on the lookout however, for the next great game changer.
Any liposuction technique may give disasterous results if used incorrectly. My Plastic Surgeon Coleagues in Boise and I have seen patients with skin burns and irrepairable contour deformities with laser liposuction and ultrasonic liposuction performed by non Board Certified Plastic Surgeons. It should be noted that Board Certified Plastic Surgeons are the only surgeons to be formally trained to perform liposuction on the whole body as part of their residency requirements. Nonetheless, any surgeon (including me) can have a poor result. Well trained surgeons, however, minimize the chances that this may occur and properly consent their patients to the risks, benefits, and alternatives to the procedure.
Please investigate your surgeon carefully as you will be looking at his or her work for the rest of your life.
After graduating medical school, Dr. Wigod completed eight years of formal General Surgery Residency and Plastic Surgery Fellowship training. His 16 years of higher education allows him to perform both Cosmetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and to treat the whole patient without being limited to one body part or technique. Broad surgical training, large volume practice experience, and continuing education assist Dr. Wigod in his efforts to provide optimal care for his patients. Dr. Wigod has experience in all aspects of Plastic Surgery, but now specializes in Cosmetic Surgery of the Breast, Body and Face, as well as Breast Cancer Reconstruction.
