Is AirSculpt safe? Would you recommend over VASER lipo for arms?

Question

I am healthy, 135 pounds and 5, 6'. I hold extra fat in my arms and looking to make them a little smaller. I am on board with VASER but also know AirSculpt is an option. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

arms do great with VASER + renuvion if you are a good candidate.

my whole practice is doing lipoabdominoplasty, or at least liposuction with internal heating (which is not the gold standard for skin tightening with body contouring).

the smaller you are before liposuction the more contouring you can get from the procedure. most of my liposuction patients get pre and post surgical optimization with hormonal therapy (see link to help boost their weight loss before surgery and help them heal after).

You need a formal evaluation by an expert in body shaping and contouring to determine what is best.  Traditional liposuction awake and smart liposuction are old methods and do very poorly for tightening skin or significant skin tightening or contouring.  Small problem areas can be improved slightly by these methods.  The best in body contouring not only removes fat with energy devices like VASER ultrasound but also internally heat the skin with radio-frequency devices such as J PLASMA/RENUVION, InMode BodyTite, ThermiRF to heat the under surface of the skin and tighten it at the same time as fat removal. These combinations are called 4D HIDEF VASER contouring and can only be done by a well . trained body contouring specialist. At the same time fat should be harvested, PRP and stem cells added and injected into muscles or indentations/cellulite to get body shaping and contouring.  This is known as a Brazilian butt lift when you inject the fat to the buttock for contouring and lifting, but fat can also be used in areas such as the chest/breast, arms/shoulders, calves and face.  Cellulite should also be treated with cellfina, sculptra, subcision and/or fillers such as bellafill, renuva synthetic fat, or sculptra.  If skin is very loose before surgery then it will need to be removed such as lower abdominal skin (tummy tuck/abdominoplasty), breast skin (breast lift), arm skin (brachioplasty).  Overall you need a full assessment, but simple liposuction alone will not tighten skin and needs a combination of various methods -- fat removal, skin tightening, defining, fat grafting, skin removal -- to get the best in body contouring and body sculpting.  Dr. Emer.

Hung William Song, MD · Answer

When you look for an artist to paint a portrait or a contractor to build your dream house, what is the most important factor in choosing who you are going to hire? Does it really matter what tools they use? You want to make sure they have good tools but in the end it is the skill of the artist, contractor or in this case, the doctor that really matters. I personally love the Vaser but I can get similar results with other tools, it just may take a little longer. The bottom line is, research the doctor and don't fixate on which tools they are using.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Overall patients are generally fairly misinformed in regards to different liposuction techniques.

There is simply very little online resources to get neutral information on this topic.

Wikipedia is about the only place you can get a basic explanation that isn’t trying to sell you some thing.

In the end all forms of liposuction use a small stainless steel tube connected to some type of vacuum source.

VASER pre-treats the fat with an ultrasound probe before using traditional Liposuction.

Airsculpt is a trademarked term owned by elite body sculpture.

It’s similar to how McDonald’s owns the term big Mac and quarter pounder or Burger King owns the word whopper.  Thet are marketing terms.  Likewise VASER is a trademarked term owned by sound surgical technologies.  The word Smartlipo is owned by the laser company cynosure.

Once trademarked other businesses cannot use those terms.

I’ve been a board-certified plastic surgeon for over 20 years and I’ve spent the last 10 years focusing exclusively and only liposuction and fat transfer procedures.

I have used all the major modalities of liposuction.

In the end there are only two variables that matter.

These are

1) patient candidacy

2) The surgeons skill and experience

Patience should not underestimate the importance of getting a proper assessment.  A substantial number of patients I consult with are not good candidates for a liposuction and are never going to have great results from the procedure because of it.  liposuction in this sense is somewhat exclusive to patients who meet certain criteria for being great candidates.  The number one variable for candidacy for Liposuction his skin laxity. Typically young patients with tight skin who do not have pregnancy related changes or skin laxity from weight fluctuations get top-notch results when done correctly.

This doesn’t mean that middle-aged people can’t get liposuction but with age comes a lesser potential for a great improvements because the loss of skin elasticity.

With Liposuction it is very important to understand your candidacy of what can and cannot be delivered.

Talented talented plastic surgeon can deliver the exact same results with any brand device for liposuction.

It is almost identical to choosing a plumber, mechanic or contractor based on what brand tools they buy.

Believe me, plastic surgeons have the tools they need to do their job.

The results are not from the instruments or the lack of having them but rather from having the skill based on experience and inherent talent.

Liposuction results have more variance than any single surgical procedure I’ve ever seen.

More patients are disfigured by liposuction than any other cosmetic surgical procedure.

The following are some general recommendations for those seeking cosmetic surgery to get the best results and have an overall positive outcome.

I recommend patients avoid traveling long distances for elective surgical procedures. There are of course instances where there is a lack of local talent and traveling to some degree is inevitable. If traveling for the procedure patients should be ready to travel to have the consultation, post operative appointments and follow up should there be issues or complications.
Patients sometimes do not appreciate the importance of in person consultations, that complications do happen or the number of people who have issues with their results or need revisions.

Schedule multiple consultations with different providers in your area who seem to have a good reputation for the procedure you’re interested in. Starting with at least five consultations seems like a reasonable number to me.

Whenever possible schedule in person consultations.  
During in person consultations ask each plastic surgeon to show all of their before and after pictures for the procedure you’re interested in.

The goal is not to see the best results of their career but to get an idea of what average results look like and get some type of confirmation of how many of these procedures that provider has performed.

Ask to see results that were not as good as the doctor would’ve hoped for and talk about the differences in outcomes.

Honest and experienced providers should have no problems presenting this type of information.

A highly experienced plastic surgeon should have hundreds of before and after pictures for the procedure you’re interested in. At a minimum at least 20+.

Read all the reviews on various physician review websites paying close attention and avoiding providers with any significant number of justified negative reviews.  Providers with an abundance of reviews often have aggressive marketing campaigns.

The plastic surgeons I respect most all have the single variable of not having justified negative reviews on their online profiles. 
In my opinion justified negative reviews are far more telling than an abundance of positive reviews.

Avoid scheduling for surgery or making a deposit on the day of the consultation.  Give yourself some time to think about the decision and make sure you finished all scheduled consultations before committing to having surgery that will permanently and irreversibly change your body.

When in doubt slow down and schedule more consultations.

Choosing the right plastic surgeon is the single most important variable to having a positive experience.

Don’t go chasing after technology or names of certain equipment. Instead focus all your efforts on finding the most experienced and talented board-certified plastic surgeon.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD

Is AirSculpt safe? Would you recommend over VASER lipo for arms?

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