Issaquah Smart Lipo doctors

Smart Lipo in this area is quite effective and gives good results for appropriately selected patients. It is usually done under tumescent anesthesia (local) and intravenous or conscious (twilight) sedation. If you are not getting the sedation component then yes you will be fully awake, and you will definitely feel what is going on. The tumescent anesthesia should make it not be painful, although some parts of the procedure will hurt until the tumescent takes effect. I think it is only kind and gentle to get the IV sedation component as well. Then you will neither feel nor remember anything. Make sure that you are having this done by a board certified Real Plastic Surgeon who has the capability of doing this for you properly.

You will be quite swollen immediately after the procedure and this will begin to resolve in couple of days, but you can expect to be noticeably swollen for up to two weeks. There is a small risk to injury of the marginal mandibular nerve resulting in a crooked smile, and this should have been discussed with you by your surgeon. This is almost always temporary but can last several weeks.

I hope I can make you feel more enlightened rather than add to the confusion.

First, it is somewhat difficult to fully assess your situation based on your picture alone, but you appear to have some fat excess, some skin excess - particularly in your lower abdomen, and probably some muscle wall laxity. Liposuction procedures primarily address only fat excess, (with the possible exception of Smart Lipo which can get some increaed skin tightening-but is not a miracle device). A Mini tummy-tuck can take out skin laxity in the lower abdonem but does not address any laxity in the upper abdomen, and usally does not address muscle wall laxity. A full tummy tuck will addrss all three but is a significantly bigger surgical procedure with more downtime and bigger scars, but overall much greater change. You must decide, in consultation with your surgeon, which procedure, or combination of procedures, will best meet you needs in terms of quality of result, degree of downtime, and costs.

Liposuction, whether SmartLipo or not, of your abdomen, flanks, and chin would not be toxic. But a Tummy Tuck would likely get you an overall more dramatic result. A combination of SmartLipo of your abdomen combined with a Mini Tummy-tuck, could give you a reasonable result but with the understanding that you would still have some laxity of the skin in you upper abdomen and some residual muscle wall butge if no muscle tightening is performed. 

So there's your not so simple but honest answer.

The notion that "tumescent" liposuction is "the" thing that provides the greatest benefit is utter hogwash. Everybody does tumescent liposuction, it is an integral part of virtually any liposuction technique performed today. Dermatologists don't do tummy tucks because they can't. Go see a reputable, experienced, Real Plastic Surgeon who is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and has experience with all these procedures, and you and he/she can decide on a plan that best meets your goals, downtime tolerance, acceptance of scars, etc. 

Incisions for both, when done properly, are small, 3-5 mm. This is not a factor in determining the final quality of the outcome, and should not be a determining factor in deciding what type of liposuction would work best. The devices work differently and confer different benefits. I use both, often on the same patient. Ultimately you should choose based on the experience, skill, and credentials of your surgeon.