“Be careful - not worth it with anyone but a trained liposuction surgeon”
Smart Lipo: NOT worth it
Pain: Severe
This review is for anyone considering Smartlipo. I'm not anti-smartlipo, but this procedure is significantly misrepresented by Cynosure, the maker of the smartlipo machine and publisher of the brochures, along with many doctors who should NOT be anywhere near this device. I'm one of the unlucky ones who got a quack in Batavia, New York that thinks he's an expert since he took the EIGHT HOUR COURSE that Cynosure gives and sends ANY DOCTOR, NOT MATTER WHAT THEIR FIELD, out to alter someone's body.
I'm also one of the lucky ones who lives near a doctor who's considered one of the best smartlipo surgeons in the east. Yes, I SHOULD have gone to him first, but he's already fixed three others from the quack I went to and has assured me that I can be "fixed". I'll have to go one more summer without feeling good about my legs, but I won't have to worry about it for next year. I won't bore you with the details of my procedure, but below is a list of things that you might want to know before you go out to talk to a doctor about having this done. I'm going to speak to having legs done.
1. Smartlipo is NOT a lunchtime procedure. It is liposuction surgery with a laser. A good surgeon will tell you that. It is the next wave of liposuction and is quickly taking the place of the old method. The laser does help in tightening the skin and the tumescent (wet) procedure reduces bruising, pain and swelling WHEN IT'S DONE PROPERLY. You should have the maximum fluid used for your body weight and should not have more than 2-3 areas done at once. Example: inner thighs, anterior thighs and knees in one procedure, then outer thighs and abdomen or gluteal crease in the next procedure. These should be done about 7 days to 1 month apart. This is a health precaution as well as a results precaution.
2. You will be home laying around the house for about three days and draining for about 24-72 hours and have to wear a compression garment for 2-6 weeks, depending on what you have done, for the best results. Some people don't wear the garment, but I found it sped up the healing process, which is making it easier for me to get my corrective surgery done sooner. You're going to be sore for about three months, gradually getting better the whole time, but still sore. you'll have lumps and bumps in your legs for that long, too, again, gradually getting better. You'll need to massage those areas and seriously look into Lymphatic Drainage Massage. IT WORKS WONDERS.
3. THE DOCTOR. This is probably the most important advice I have for you. Do not, do not, do not, go to a doctor that does not do this as his only line of business. Do not use a pediatrician, a general doctor, an ear, nose and throat doctor - get my point?? Do not use any doctor that has added this to his practice and sandwiches your smartlipo inbetween allergy shots and annual physicals. The only training required by law to do this is the EIGHT HOUR course that Cynosure gives after the doctor purchases the machine. OH, I forgot, they offer two more eight hour courses for ADVANCED training. Think about it - 24 hours of training lets any MD start to reshape your body with absolutely no previous cosmetic experience. Don't do it. Run away. Fast.
4. Do your research and make the commitment to yourself to get the very best. Save your money, get the best deal on a credit card, make sure you have enough time off from work. You're worth it. I am planning my time off, how much it will cost me for gas and hotel (My "Good" doctor is two hours away) and what I'll use for time off at work. I should have done this the first time, but again, I'm very lucky to be able to do it right the second time. This is something I've wanted for about 10 years and I'm not going to screw it up again.
5. Once you've got your resources together, only look at board certified plastic surgeons, OR, doctors who have proven skills and track records IN THE AREAS YOU WANT TREATED. This is a wonderful website, and it probably saved me from going back to the quack and letting him try to fix me (he told me could, but I got a full refund instead) but I would direct you to liposuction.com. It's a great place to gather all the info you'll need to be well informed about your procedure and what can and can't be done. There's also a great page with a list of questions to ask the doctors - you will want to interview at least two, if not three - that you're considering using.
6. The most important questions you can ask are, "How long have you been doing this procedure on the areas I want treated and how many have you done?", "How do you determine where to sculpt and contour?" and lastly, "Can I have three references that I can call that have had the same areas done?". Don't gloss over any answers that you're not totally comfortable with, and if they cannot give you three references, thank them and never call them back. Any doctor who is good at this will have several happy customers who would love to tell you how happy they are.
7. Be an active particpant in the procedure. Let the doctor know excactly what you want and don't let him say "I know what to do" before you lay on that table. If he gives you a hard time, say thank you, get up, get dressed and get out. It's your body.
I hope this helps someone. Again, I'm not anti-smartlipo, but I've learned a very valuable lesson about cosmetic surgery and the makers of the machines that assist with it. I'm looking forward to my next surgery and am thanking God that I'm able to come out of this OK. I'd love to hear from others. Also, I'd like to thank Julie7 on this site. Her comments and review along with all those who wrote in helped me get to this point tonight.
Updated on Aug 7, 2008:
UPDATE - AUGUST 7th - Something else that's very important for everyone considering smartlipo to know - Even those who get happy with the procedure are not completely happy with their first results, no matter how good the doctor is. This is not bad, just honest. It appears that a few bumps and lumps will show up during recovery and they'll need to be fixed. Almost every post here gives credit to that.
A good doctor will tell you that you will probably need a touch-up, or even two, due to the fact that while he/she will do their best, you will have a lot of fluid in your legs/stomach/whereever and it is almost impossible to get a 100% smooth result the first time.
NOW - this is different from having major issues, such as mine for example. I consider 12-inch ridges down the front of both my thighs and sharp indentations at the top of both NOT to be touch-ups, but screw-ups. If I did not have those, the small lumps in the other areas might have been acceptable, but I believe all touch-ups should be minor. Contouring and blending are not negotiable.
Jun 8, 2008Comments and replies (63)
63 posts
9 Jun 2008
Hey Thanks for your story and wow!! You covered it nicely for folks out there running to get fixed up by this lunchtime procedure. Everything you said is accurate and difinitely helpful for someone seeking out to do the treatment. Can I see what happened to you? And would you mind letting me know who is going to fix you? Or could you review my story under Unattrative Result and tell me if I look like something your doctor could help me with??? I don't want to have to pay for a mistake for the rest of my life. I really do feel deformed now. I understand having a deformity. I an accept that. But a self-inflicted One? That's the part I am having a hard time with. I trusted my doctor and I feel as though he let me down. After paying for the thing and meeting in person, I learned that it really was lipo but couldn't get a refund or I would have. I basically considered myself stuck. Thanks again for puting your information out there to help others. You are truly paying it forward. You are a good person.
2 posts
19 Jun 2008
Hello, Thank you so much for shedding some light on all of this for me. As I explained, I am very new to this, and information is often limited, with regard to the specific doctors themselves. I will definitely be doing a little more "shopping around" before I make my final decision. Good luck with your corrective procedure. Thanks again. Take care.
41 posts
2 Jul 2008
Just an update - Spoke with all four references from Dr F's office and am very happy with the info I got. All are thrilled with their entire experience there and are happy with their results. Three of them had the same areas done that I'm getting corrected and both say what a great job the Dr. did with contouring and blending, and touchups are included and expected to make sure you're even and happy with your results. - Met with the traditional lipo doctor today just to cover all my bases. Not at all impressed with his lack of knowledge of smart lipo procedure and results. Kept telling me that I shouldn't worry and that it will take 6-12 months for my results to show. Obviously doesn't know about the much shorter results time for smart lipo. Also told me that pain would last that long. I'm not in any pain anymore, just a little sore to the touch in a couple of spots still. I'm definitely sticking with my new smart lipo doctor in Utica, NY.
1 post
7 Jul 2008
Hi bowling babe, Can you tell me who dr F, the good smartlipo surgeon you went to and where he is located as I would like to get the surgery myself on my thighs. Can you tell me how you went. Regards kh
1 post
8 Jul 2008
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! I had the procedure done @ Medical Spas of Houston..MAJOR LIARS! They will nag you before the procedure to snatch your money..then after you realize it doesnt work..the're going to advise you to wait for the "Magic" results..Uhmmm several months later-no change. Yes I excercise. Yes I eat right. Yes I brought Spinx (garment they use to make you think you are losing anything but very minimal 2-4 lbs water weight that comes right back). After procedure: you are on your own! Procedure is NOT a lunch time miracle, Procedure is messy. Yo
2 posts
9 Jul 2008
i so glad i read your post. I have a consultation in batavia at the "laser place" and i was very surprised to see that it doubles as a pediatricians office. I can't thank you enough for this. I'm in Buffalo and a medispa here is starting to offer this procedure, so, I'm, going to wait it out awhile until he gets a few patients under his belt...thanks again
2 posts
9 Jul 2008
the medispa in buffalo is smooth solutions. I called the office today and the receptionist was very open with me. She said the doctor and the nurses are doing their training the week and they will be set to roll out the actual procedure in the next two weeks. she also stated that they will perform the procedures on the staff first, so they are doing consults but actual appointments will be a month or so down the line. Im actually looking to get my jaw line and chin done. Im kind of scared because if that gets fudged up, there's really no hiding that from public view.
41 posts
22 Jul 2008
JULY 22 UPDATE – I went for my 2nd consultation last week. The doctor and I discussed what to do and I’m going for the corrections to the inner/outer thighs, knees and blending into the rest of my leg. He’s also going to improve my outer banana roll and the front of my knees as they relate to the rest of the corrections. He explained what he would do and showed me a couple of different ways he would do it, along with discussing options of one or two sessions. At first he had said it would have to be two sessions, but since I’ve opted not to do my stomach, at least not until next year, he said we could go one of three ways: 1. Two sessions about three months apart so he could touch up the first area and correct the second at the same time. 2. Plan on one session with a slightly lessened amount of local anesthesia in all the areas to provide for the safest amount I can get at one time. With this option he would monitor my pain level and if I was uncomfortable he would increase the dose to get the best results in the areas he was working on, and put off the other areas as in option one. 3. This one is totally up to me, but go for one session and accept a certain level of pain. I told him that I didn’t want to feel anything this time since it was very painful last time and he told me “I assure you that this will be a very different experience from your last procedure”. I liked that – a lot. He also said that if he thought it was too much he’d stop anyway, no matter what I said. He showed me how he’ll determine where he’ll work and explained that I would probably need touchups in three months since it would be a little difficult to see exactly where the Quack had screwed up, once I had all the fluids in. He’ll make several different marks on my legs to signify different needs. He’ll correct the ridges on the sides and top of my thighs by blending the front and inner at the same time for shape and symmetry, or possibly going from outer thigh down to inner knee first, then correcting the inner thigh. If that’s the case, the upper inner thighs may be a second procedure, along with the banana roll. It all depends on pain level and getting the best results possible in the first procedure. I asked him about the front-top of my knees and he at first said that we could not do those because the tissue would eventually fall from my upper leg, but then stopped and said that since we are addressing the anterior thigh he could and would alter the knee area so it would also blend in with my leg or I would have a bump. When we were all done he asked if I had any more questions and went over everything we discussed again (from his notes). I scheduled my smartlipo with him for September 11th. I don’t want to wait that long, but I also know how hot it gets in Upstate NY in August. I’m in no rush to wear the compression garment in four weeks of 95 degree, muggy weather. As I was leaving the office, Dr. F. turned to me and said, “OK, we’re going to make your legs look great!”. I really needed that, and right now I’ll settle for a solid “GOOD”!
1 post
7 Aug 2008
Bowling Babe has some very good advice for choosing your SmartLipo physician. However, the technique that your physician uses, eg. tumescent (as described above) or non-tumescent, is not important. Whether they have prior liposuction experience or not is not important. This is an inherently different modality and applying traditional liposuction techniques will lead to unreliable results. Board certification in plastic surgery is not important. As with any type of therapy the most important physician traits are experience with the device and knowledge of its (and their own) limitation. Beware the physician that has only one tool because that is all you are going to get.
unregistered guest
26 Aug 2008
Is there anyone out there that can recommend a GOOD dr. in Houston? I'm going for a consult tomorrow and I'm not sure I'm going to the right guy after reading something from someone else's email (TC Jester/Galleria area.) Comments?