Abbey Aesthetics - Bloomfield

A: Hello and thank you for your question! When considering your options, keep in mind that any surgical procedure comes with certain risk of complications. Another factor to consider is the experience and expertise of the physician performing the procedure. Smart Lipo is a safe procedure that we perform often in our office. The main difference between the traditional version and our laser assisted version is that Smart Lipo is a minimally invasive surgical procedure and the fat cells are melted before suctioning. During Smart Lipo, the patient is always awake and alert throughout the procedure. In lieu of general anesthesia, a numbing fluid with lidocaine is injected only into the treatment area in order to ease the pain. This also brings down the price of Smart Lipo, since you don’t have to account for the added cost of a team of doctors to administer and monitor anesthesia. There are incision sites that are very small and usually do not leave a scar. This is contrary to traditional liposuction where the incisions are larger to accommodate the suction tube used to remove the fat cells. After the area is numbed, which we know by checking in with the patient to gauge their comfort level, we melt the fat cells. This is done by inserting the laser fiber through the incision sites. With Smart Lipo, the laser has a tightening effect on the skin above the treatment area, and you will not be left with loose skin, which is sometimes a possibility with traditional liposuction. After this, a small cannula no bigger than the tip of a pen is inserted to suction the melted fat cells. Another major difference between the two procedures is there is considerably less down time associated with Smart Lipo, as the patient is not under general anesthesia. Within the first couple days after Smart Lipo, the patient will feel back to normal and will be able to resume their daily activities. After traditional liposuction, the patient needs to recover from the general anesthesia as well as the pain from the actual procedure. While you will have to wear a compression garment for 2-3 weeks after Smart Lipo, this is less time than with traditional liposuction. If you are considering either procedure, your best plan of action is to set up a consultation with an experienced physician to discuss which procedure you would be a better candidate for. Keep in mind that with Smart Lipo, the best candidates have a BMI less than 30 and are no more than 20% over their ideal body weight. Hope this helps, and good luck with whichever procedure you decide on.

A: Hello and thank you for your question!

In our office we use the Cutera Coolglide for laser hair removal. This inclusive laser system uses an innovative cooling design to allow for the safe and effective removal of hair from all parts of the body and works for men and women of all skin tones.  As the name implies, the CoolGlide laser hair removal handpiece cools and soothes as it glides along the skin, which allows for a more comfortable experience.

This laser only targets hair in their active growth cycle, and at any given time only a small percentage of your hair follicles are in this phase. Typically for complete hair removal we recommend an average of 6 treatments spaced 4-6 weeks apart. Therefore, if you are seeking to reduce the amount of hair in an area without completely removing it, you could choose to only have a few treatments, and wait in between treatments to see if you are satisfied with remaining amount of hair. In addition, hair that grows back is usually less dense than it originally was, due to the reduction in hair follicles.

If this is something you would be interested in, I suggest researching trained professionals in your area and to set up a consultation to determine if you would be a good fit.

Hope this helps!