What are the best alternatives to liposuction?

Liposuction is a safe procedure with minimal downtime compared to a tummy tuck or body lift procedure. Newer treatments such as Ultrashape are thought to expand the field of nonsurgical fat reduction by using an external device to reduce fat stores. This is still pending approval by the FDA.

Liposuction is designed to remove fat from very focal areas.  It's an excellent technique and in the right hands is very successful.  But because of marketing people that pray on peoples fears other techniques of fat removal have been developed.

Other alternative to traditional liposuction include the laser lipos such as cool lipo and smart lipo.  Again in this country the fat must be infiltrated and sucked out.  In my opinion not an acceptable alternative to traditional lipo.

Lipodissolve is a method in which a solution is injected into the fat and the fat cells rupture.  The fat is then removed by the bodies inflammatory system.  The problem with this is that the solution is not regulated by the FDA and it can contain up to 30 different chemicals.  Do you want to take that kind of chance?

Finally the one alternative that plastic surgeons don't want to say and patients don't want to hear-lose weight.  Enough said on that.

Many patients are confused about the term "Laser Liposuction" or "Laser-assisted Liposuction". It should be understood that these procedures are not really liposuction alternatives- they are liposuction. The laser is used to help melt the fat prior to performing a traditional-type liposuction procedure. It does make the fat removal easier and more consistent. There are claims that the laser helps to tighten skin, and this may be true but is unproven thus far.

Patients come to my office asking for laser liposuction with the notion that it is a non-invasive procedure. This is a misconception. I frequently perform laser-assisted liposuction with the 1320 nm laser (CoolLipo) but I clearly explain that this is simply an improvement to traditional tumescent liposuction surgery, not an alternative.With an experienced physician, laser-assisted liposuction produces excellent results and may in fact lead to easier recovery.

There are some procedres that are "coming down the pipe," but they are not FDA approved in the US.  As the previous person answered, Ultrashape is one, and Lysonix has a similar product.  Thes are external ultrasound devices that may perform some fat reduction.  It will not do the same as lipsocution in one setting, and probably will require several treatments.   Avoid mesotherapy of injection lipolysis because these products are not FDA approved either, and the scientific research on this topic is very thin to say the least.

The new Ultrashape treatments are completely non-invasive, do not require incisions, surgery or anesthesia and have no pain or downtime associated with them. Ultrashape is meant to treat problem areas like the lower belly or thighs and is not meant to replace large volume liposuction or to be used as a weight loss tool.

Ultrashape is pending FDA approval and therefore is not yet available in the USA. It does have Health Canada approval and is available in Canada as well as Mexico and many places in Europe.