Affordable Liposuction/laser Lipo in Nc?

The costs associated with liposuction, or any
surgery, are based on several factors which include: areas of concern, type of
liposuction performed, surgeon and facility fees. The first step is to find a
board-certified plastic surgeon, preferably one who is a member of the American
Society of Plastic Surgeons, who you feel comfortable with and they will decide
if you are a good candidate for surgery. Tumescent liposuction is considered
the gold standard of fat removal and is used by most board-certified plastic
surgeons. Surgeon and facility fees vary depending on location, type of
facility and how many areas of liposuction will be performed. These will depend
on your health and other factors as well, and are great questions to ask your
surgeon at your consultation.

The price of liposuction surgery generally has very little to do with the technology that is being used. The primary factor that influences price is the training, skill and experience of the surgeon. If you want to see a board-certified plastic surgeon, the procedure will be more expensive. I you go to a non-surgeon (dermatologist, gynecologist, internist, ER doctor, etc) your cost will be lower. So the first decision you need to make is who you want to perform this surgical procedure for you. And please always bear in mind that it is a surgical procedure you are considering.

Board-certified plastic surgeons undergo a minimum of 5 years and as many as 10 years of surgical training after medical school. Plastic surgeons receive specific training in liposuction surgery, and most perform this procedure on their own patients as residents and as fellows. By the time a plastic surgeon in training becomes a chief resident, he or she is mentoring other residents and teaching them how to perform liposuction surgery. This is so important to understand: the training and experience of the doctor performing your liposuction surgery is much more important than the type of liposuction device that is used. It's not the instrumentation that is the difference between a great liposuction result and a lousy liposuction result - it's the skill and artistry of the person performing the surgery.

Non-surgeons who perform plastic surgery in most cases have received no training in liposuction during their residencies, and usually 'learn' liposuction by taking 'weekend courses' that demonstrate some basics of the technique. Some of these physicians call themselves 'cosmetic surgeons', but there is no such thing as a formal residency program in 'cosmetic surgery' nor is there a recognized board of cosmetic surgery (recognized specialty boards are listed at abms.org).

Liposuction, in skilled and experienced hands, amounts to quite a bit more than injecting tumescent solution and suctioning fat. It requires careful preoperative patient evaluation, sound judgment in the planning of surgery, selection of safe and effective liposuction instrumentation, appropriate anesthesia care, and appropriate postoperative patient management. The fee you pay a board-certified plastic surgeon avails you of all of the above.

Anesthesia care is a significant factor that impacts the cost of the procedure. Plastic surgeons perform surgery in their accredited outpatient surgery facilities or in hospital-based ambulatory surgery centers, where you can be assured of receiving skilled and experienced anesthesia care and nursing care. Non-plastic surgeons who perform liposuction usually do so in their office, as a hospital or surgery center will not give a doctor privileges to perform liposuction if they have not received appropriate residency training. General anesthesia and deep IV sedation should not be performed in an office setting, so office liposuction is usually done under mild sedation or no sedation at all.

Dramatic improvements in body contour can easily be accomplished when a liposuction patient is under general anesthesia or deep IV sedation, but patients have a difficult time tolerating the removal of significant amounts of fat under light sedation. Also, if a patient is having a hard time holding still, or if the procedure must be terminated because of patient discomfort, the chances of asymmetry and skin contour irregularity are increased.

Regarding 'laser lipo': there are a number of liposuction devices that incorporate laser energy to emulsify (liquefy) fat, and thus far none of these systems have been shown to provide any advantage over conventional liposuction. Different devices use different wavelengths of laser energy, and all of them carry with them the risk of thermal (burn) injury due to the heat emitted by the laser. I have seen several patients with disfiguring scars and areas of skin retraction from thermal injury sustained during laser liposuction. For a technology to be practical, the potential benefits need to outweigh the potential complications. For laser liposuction, in my opinion (one which is shared by many plastic surgeons) there is an increased risk of complications with no proven potential benefit.

I encourage you to consult with one or more board-certified plastic surgeons in your area, and choose your surgeon based on reputation, experience, and on the basis of 'before and after' photographs of his or her liposuction patients. If your budget is limited, decide which area or areas are the most important to you to have improved. You will be much happier with a significant (and natural-appearing) improvement in one or two areas than you will be with limited or no improvement in multiple areas, and you will regret it forever if you end up with skin surface contour irregularities and asymmetry because your surgery was performed by a non-surgeon with limited experience and no formal residency training in liposuction.