Is Lipolaser okay while breastfeeding?

It's truly unfortunate, but I've seen a lot of Groupons for something named lipolaser recently, being performed by salons, hairdressers, and spas. You'll notice all the other doctors so far have answered about surgical procedures. That's because, like the average consumer, the name of "lipolaser" is easily confused with laser liposuction. But as you indicated when you said it's noninvasive, the two couldn't be more different. Laser Liposuction is a surgical procedure that offers amazing results. lipolaser is a procedure that gets fat cells to release the fat they've stored out into the body. With a lot of water, exercise, and luck, your body will then metabolize and release some of that fat. It's not very effective, and if you ever eat just a tiny bit more calories than your body needs, it will easily refill those empty storage tanks. In comparison, both laser lipo and the non-invasive options we offer, including CoolSculpting and SculpSure, actually remove fat cells from the body, which means your body doesn't have a bunch of empty fat cells ready to store new fat in.If you wish to have noninvasive fat reduction, please consider CoolSculpting or SculpSure, or possibly EmSculpt. These are the most effective options at current, and have been regulated by the FDA for safety and efficacy. They are performed in safe medical environments.It is my opinion that women should hold off from any fat reduction procedures while breastfeeding for several reasons:During breastfeeding your hormones will greatly affect how you hold onto fat, and it is likely your results will be undone by your hormones. Once you stop breastfeeding and allow your hormones to stabilize, you will have a much higher success rate with any procedure.Safety for cosmetic procedures has not been studied for breastfeeding moms, and you don't want to be the guinea pigOften, many women will stop breastfeeding and find they lose the baby weight pretty quickly in the first few weeks right after stopping breastfeeding, so give yourself a chance to lose it naturally firstBest of luck!

Dear J Nash1,Hello and thank you for your excellent question. If your doctor is prescribing a non-invasive fat reduction technique (e.g., cool sculpting, zerona, sculpsure) then I think you will be OK. Otherwise, if you are having actual liposuction, you will need to refrain from breast feeding for at least 3 days after surgery to clear the medications from your system.  I have found that many patients can get GOOD results with liposuction alone, and EXCELLENT results with IDEAL Liposuction! IDEAL Lipo is a proprietary technique that we have been developing for the past 12 years. First off, all devices and instruments used are FDA-approved, unlike many fat harvest and transfer devices beying used today. These procedures are typically performed in the office, with only local anesthesia (although patients can request deeper sedation, if they so desire). We typically use Smart / Laser Liposuction or VASER (ultrasound) to reduce dense, fibrous fat, and stimulate collagen formation; Radiofrequency-based skin tightening (like Body Tite, or Thermi) to maximize skin contraction; and Ultrasound, RF, or subcision (Z Wave, Venus, Cellfina) to treat cellulite. Patients go home the day of surgery; typically do not use any narcotics postop for pain control, and are back to light exercise and work 48 hours after their procedures. In my practice, we specifically evaluate patients for these additional treatments, and select the appropriate treatment based on their skin quality, amount of fat, previous treatment(s), and surgical goals. It is best to answer your question during a face-to-face evaluation, when you can discuss your goals and expectations for the procedure, and you can have a physical examination to evaluate for that procedure. I recommend that you find a board-certified, or board-eligible plastic surgeon with whom you are comfortable. Be sure to have all of your questions answered during a face-to-face meeting with your surgeon, and review before and after pictures of similar patients whom have had this procedure. If you have any questions, call our office for assistance. Good luck!

Best,

Jon Ver Halen, MD FACS

Harvard educated plastic surgeon

Texas “Top Doc” 2017, 2018

RealSelf100

America’s Top Plastic Surgeons, Consumer’s Research Council, 2010 - 2018