Slim lipo vs. Smart lipo: which is best?

Some of the information on the SlimLipo device was only partially correct. SlimLipo by Palomar has 2 wavelengths, one which is 920nm that is fat selective. The other is 980nm which is water selective much like the other devices on the market(SmartLipo, CoolLipo,Lipotherme). I feel the SlimLipo is much more efficient than these other devices simply because it has a dual wavelength that is selective for water that is around and in the fat cell as well as a wavelength for the fat cell (membrane) itself. Both of these wavelengths are generally fired at the same time so you get the added benefits of both during the procedure or they can be used separately. Unfortunately, the other device ONLY have water wavelengths.

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sharon.. thanks for responding.. i appreciate your sight... it really has helped. God bless you in all the ways you are helping people make smart choices.

The new SmartLipo MPX has two wavelengths (1064nm and 1320nm) vs. the Slim Lipo (920nm).  Although Palomars 920nm Slim Lipo may look like a good wavelength for fat on paper it actually may not work as well.  The reason is that the target is actually the membrane around the fat (a mixture of both water and lipid) and not the fat itself.  When we hit the membrane with the right wavelength the fat cell breaks apart.  The contents of the broken fat cell are either aspirated during the last part of the procedure or are broken down and removed by the immune system.  Barry DiBernardo in New York did some nice work showing these broken down contents did not increase the level of fats in the blood stream and therefore it is very unlikely that any remnants missed by aspiration are remanufactured into functional fat cells.   The other difference is power.  Both the SmartLipo MPX and SlimLipo are currently 30Watt systems.  The higher the wattage the more quickly the provider can do the treatment.  The SmartLipo MPX is scheduled to get bumped up to 60Watts in the next few months.    A head to head clinical study would be extremely beneficial to sort out the actual differences between the two devices.  The SmartLipo MPX procedure probably gets a little more fat given the same amount of time with the current devices set-ups. All in all both machines can be used effectively for fat reduction the main difference is as much the experience of the provider verses the technology.  Will I agree with Dr, Freund (see below) that the evidence is poor at best when it comes to randomized controlled trial for increased contraction of LAL (laser assisted lipo) vs. other types of lipo.  However, I would like to point out that there are some significant advantages.   When comparing to traditional lipo with a 4-6mm cannula, there tends to be less damage to the connective tissue with LAL. This is probably due to the smaller cannula size with LAL.  Although it is somewhat provider dependent, the LAL devices tend to cause less swelling, less bruising and thus less downtime due to the fact that they coagulate blood vessels during the procedure. A good LAL provider can do superficial work without the contour irregularities which can plague even the best surgeons who do traditional lipo.  Also, to date there have been no reported cases of superficial vascular changes (unlike with traditional superficial liposuction and ultrasound assisted lipo).   Jeff Klein, the inventor of tumescent anesthesia for liposuction and one of best liposurgeons anywhere and I spoke about this at a Harvard meeting last fall. He agrees that the answer is doing the work for more solid clinical data so we can see exactly were LAL fits into the liposuction world.

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Slim lipo and Smartlipo are both laser assisted lipolysis. Both lasers take advantage of the same principle of breaking up fat cells using laser energy. Based on wavelength alone the 920nm (slim lipo) is theoretically more efficient at breaking up fat cells than is the 1064nm (Smartlipo). In practice however, I'm not sure that the difference matters that much. It may take the Smartlipo laser longer to get to the same endpoint as the Slim lipo laser but does that really make a difference to the outcome? Whereas laser assisted liposuction seems to give consistently better results, particularly for small areas, than traditional liposuction, I'd not choose a physician based on which laser they use. In other words, Smartlipo and Slim lipo will give similar results in the hands of the same physician. This is where the skill of the physician would make a difference and not so much what laser they use.

I agree that technique matters in the thorough breakdown and removal of fat cells with liposuction. And if one believes that all lasers are equal, no matter what wavelength they represent, than technique is paramount to achieving optimal results. That said, I would argue that any physician utilizing a laser for liposuction has to combine that laser with some sort of avulsive (traumatic) microcanular aspiration technique to achieve adequate fatty tissue removal. If I were a patient, I would want the least amount of trauma to my body while removing the maximum amount of fat. My patients want maximum results with minimum post op discomfort and downtime. Where, I believe, SlimLipo has set themselves apart from the rest of the laser lipo field is that they have chosen wavelengths (924nm and 975nm) that do a very good job on the breakdown of fatty cells, at the same time minimizing bleeding (via the 924 wavelength) and enhancing skin tighetning (via the 975 wavelength). The second important distinction, which has not been mentioned yet, is how SlimLipo delivers the wavelength of their laser. What I mean is the size of the fiber that delivers the fat destructive laser beam. The SlimLipo wavelength is delivered in a 1.5 mm fiber, which is 2.5 times bigger than the fiber of any of its competitors, including SmartLipo. Now, if I were the patient I would want my doctor to destroy as many of my fat cells as quickly and as atraumatically as possible. SlimLipo delivers that capability, I believe, better than any other laser manufacture in the marketplace. I have had the opportunity to use and compare all the lasers in the marketplace, with the exception of Lipotherme (which is a 980 nm system but I have used Lasertight, which uses the same wavelength), none of them do as good a job of breaking down fat cells like SlimLipo does. Whether SlimLipo's benefits are due soley to its larger fiber delivery system and/or its chosen wavelengths, I don't think anybody knows right now, but it does do a very good job. And this also means that the aspiration of the broken fat cells can be performed in a non-avulsive manner, which means less trauma to the patient. This again gets us back to what my patients require from me, maximum results with minimal trauma. In my hands, that means I offer them SlimLipo exclusively.

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The fact is Smartlipo MPX is a dual wavelength laser that is FAR superior to Slimlipo in many ways.. Slimlipo, was formally named the Aspire, but due to lackluster sales the name was changed to sound more like the gold standard in the laser lipo arena "Smartlipo". But, the simple fact is that Smartlipo has ALL of the name brand recognition and your patients will go out of their way to find a physician using Smartlipo. In my opinion if you waste your money on any other laser lipopisis workstation your your only hurting your bottom line sales and your patients are going to go elseware to have their procedure done. You better think twice before you buy Slimlipo.

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Dr. J, unfortuantely you have it wrong. The platform is called the Aspire and the procedure is called "SlimLipo" or "Selective Laser Induced Melting." Yes, while SmartLipo has had it's success with marketing (and I have owned two of their platforms, 18 Watt and MPX) I have to say that I am switching over to SlimLipo because I have had a bad experience with Cynosure, their support, and their Sales Rep in my area. After using the SlimLipo I creamier fat emulsion and less blood in what I aspirated. After using the SmartLipo on a hundred or so cases, I could see a significant difference, after one week and now the patient is two months out and looks better than most of the SmartLipo cases I've performed.

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I had smart laser surgery done. It wasn't as effective as the conventional lipo suction because they took the excess fat and shot it into my cock. Now I have a huge dick.