Health

Laser Away Fat?

None — LIPOSUCTION: Liposuction is a traditional procedure used to contour and remove fat from the body. Liposuction, also called lipoplasty, is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures. Liposuction can be conducted on almost any part of the body on which unwanted fat exists. Most lipoplasty procedures consist of the patient being under a general anesthesia or just under sedation. Traditional lipoplasty surgeries use a flexible wand, a cannula, with a vacuum pump, to suck the fat out after the cannula breaks up the fat. Time and recovery varies depending on how much fat is removed and on the patient's extent of treatment.

TYPES OF LIPOSUCTION: • Tumescent Liposuction (standard lipo): Anesthesia mixed with epinephrine is injected under the skin and into the fat. The epinephrine makes the area swell up and causes blood vessels to constrict, which helps the body not to lose as much blood. Meanwhile, the anesthesia works to disguise the pain. Patients can choose to be either under general anesthesia or sedation with an IV, which still allows for communication between the patient and the doctor throughout the procedure. Tumescent Liposuction may be combined with Laser liposuction, SmartLipo, Lipotherme, Ultrasound Assisted Lipo (UAL) and Vaser Assisted Liposuction (VAL). • Wet and Super Wet Liposculpture: This is similar to tumescent liposuction but must be done under general anesthesia. (Source: Cosmeticprocedureinfo.org)

WHAT IS ZERONA: According to Zerona's Web site, it is the first non-invasive body contouring procedure that removes excess fat from the body. Zerona is not an FDA-approved procedure, but the Erchonia Laser Scanner used to do the procedure is FDA cleared for laser-assisted liposuction. The Zerona procedure consists of a low-level laser being applied externally through a low-level Erchonia laser. The laser itself is non-invasive and helps the body absorb fat by stimulating a normal biological function. The laser technology that Zerona uses induces the formation of transitory pore in the membrane of the fat cell. This pore then enables the fatty material to seep out to an extra cell.

FUTURE OF ZERONA: Zerona's initial double-blind, randomized, controlled study revealed an average of 3.65 inches lost from waists, hips and thighs. Zerona laser treatment consists of six 40-minute sessions over a two-week period. Though studies look bright, Zerona's lasting effects are still undetermined, and no one knows what the body will look like two, five, 10 years from now (Source: Myzerona.com).