What Cannula is Used During Smart Lipo?

The cannula is a metal tube that acts as a protective sleeve for the laser fiber and prevents excessive bending that could cause the laser fiber to "fracture."
To give you a simple analogy: If you think of a mechanical pencil, the metal part of the pencil protects the lead and you advance only a small portion of the lead to keep from fracturing it. If you tried to write with the lead itself it would break. you need the metal sleeve (cannula) to protect the delicated lead.
Same goes with the laser fiber. You need a cannula to protect the laser fiber as you use it.
Sorry if this is oversimplified but I hope it helps to explain.
After laser energy delivery, traditional liposuction is performed with traditional liposuction cannulae which are thin metal hollow tubes. with different shaped openings and tips.

All liposuction techniques use a cannula. This is the instrument (like a very thin straw) used to access the fat and suck it out. The Smartlipo technique uses a fiberoptic cable which is put through the cannula so it can directly melt the fat. The cannula is then connected to suction to suck out the melted fat. The cannulas are usually only 2 to 3 mm wide.

Smart lipo generally involves 3 steps. Each uses a cannula, which is a very thin hollow tube allowing passage of firstly - the numbing fluid, secondly is the laser fiber which is like a strand of angel hair. Finally is the actual suctioning of the fat.
The cannula or tube is placed under the skin through tiny openings just large enough to accomodate them. These openings are made after numbing the skin with local anesthetic; so some initial "pin pricks" are involved. Other than these first few seconds, the rest of the procedure is really pretty comfortable.