Is Smart Lipo a Good Choice for Poor Skin Elasticity?

Question

I am 23, 5'3 and about 120lbs. I have lost about 45 pounds in the past 5 years and have a VERY mushy mid-section with moderate fat and plenty of loose skin.

	With traditional types of lipo, surgeons typically suggest it will work best for patients with good skin elasticity, but as I have many stretchmarks from my previous weight loss and my mid-section (abs, flanks and back) is still overly malleable, I have been hesitant to proceed with that route.

	SmartLipo seems to be a possible alternative, but I want to make sure I can achieve the same drastic results as I could with traditional lipo. It seems to be nearly as expensive as traditional lipo, after all. So, basically, would SmartLipo be a good choice for someone like me with poor skin elasticity?

Farbod Esmailian, MD · Answer

As it sounds, you have loose skin from your weight loss, and the only solution is for skin excision, tummy tuck.  Liposuction or smart lipo will not achieve the result you want and need.
Smart lipo is really no different than traditional lipo except that it uses a laser to melt the fat and then we use a traditional lipo cannula to aspirate the fat.  It is just another method to remove the fat.
Hope that helps.

Armando Soto, MD, FACS · Answer

Hi-
There are many excellent liposuction machines on the market, but the final outcome really depends MUCH more on your surgeon than on the machine he or she uses. I think that this somehow has gotten lost in the shuffle over the past few months, with patients being led to believe that they will achieve unreasonably good results if they have their procedure done with a certain machine, even if performed by someone with less training and experience...
The real issue here is your skin elasticity though- it sounds like you have experienced a significant loss of elasticity, and there is no amount of liposuction (are machine) that will adequately treat or reverse this.  I would recommend that you find a reputable, board certified plastic surgeon, discuss your goals, and consider your options.

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

If you have lost all that weight, it sounds like you would be better off having a tummy tuck.  Besides, Smartlipo doesn't tighten the skin too well.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS (retired) · Answer

Unfortunately, once your skin elasticity is gone (loose, mobile skin with many stretch marks), there is no liposuction procedure that will give you any kind of "dramatic results."  You will lose some of the fat but will be left with loose, lumpy, bumpy skin that probably will look worse than if you did nothing. 
A tummy tuck is probably all you can do to get a tight flat abdomen but you should wait until after being done having children to do this.  Just save your money and don't waste it on liposuction and put it to a tummy tuck later.

Is Smart Lipo a Good Choice for Poor Skin Elasticity?

Answers (4)