Interview with Smartlipo Expert Dr. Gregory Denzel Regarding Stomach Fat Lipo and Saddlebag Lipo

By NNT Featured Publications- May 13, 2011

Do you have unwanted areas of fat on your body and have tried everything from diet to exercise with no success? You may be a gym fanatic, a person who eats right and works out regularly and still have areas of fat on your body that doesn´t seem to budge from your stomach fat, chin, or thighs. Smartlipo laser liposuction is the solution. This procedure has been shown to be effective for resistant areas of fat. Laser liposuction can shape and tighten any area.

So, we sat down with SmartLipo expert Dr. Gregory Denzeland asked him frequently asked questions regarding this procedure.

Q: What is Smartlipo Laser Liposuction?

A: SmartLipo is a new technology that uses laser energy to melt fat prior to liposuction. It´s an improvement over the traditional liposuction, it´s safer and the recovery has less down time.

Q: What makes it so special?

A: The skin tightening effects during, for example, stomach fat lipo are unique to Laser Liposuction. There was some skin tightening effect with traditional liposuction but not to the degree that we get with the laser liposuction. The reason for that is that the laser heats up the collagen underneath the skin so that when it heals it retracts and causes the skin to tighten.

Q: Who is a good candidate?

A: Anybody who is healthy, doesn´t smoke, doesn´t have uncontrolled diabetes and is near their ideal body weight are perfect candidates. Overweight people can get the procedure but the most amazing results are the people that are close to their ideal body weight. Saddlebag lipo gives great results.

Q: What are the risks?

A: There aren´t really many risks. It´s a lot safer than the old fashioned liposuction because we don´t need an anesthesiologist to administer anesthesia. That´s where the danger was in traditional liposuction. With this procedure the incisions are smaller and there is less trauma. Therefore, we don´t need general anesthesia. We use a local anesthetic and the patient is given a mild sedative. A lot of people really don´t even need that.

Other risks though are bruising; about 50% of people do get bruising. But just like any other bruise it´s going to go away. There is a small risk of infection, but out of 200 cases I haven´t had 1 infection and probably will never have another infection. But there is still a small risk. There is also a risk of a seroma which is a pocket of fluid from the healing process. It doesn´t happen very often but if it does we simply drain the fluid with a needle and it doesn´t affect the result.

Q: What is the downtime?

A: Not very much downtime. With this new laser technology it´s so much gentler that the downtime is reduced significantly. Some people are back to work the next day. I always tell my patients they could be back to work in 3 days. But the side effects get better and better every day. So by day 3 they are really feeling a lot better.

Q: What body regions can be treated?

A: Essentially any area of the body can be treated. The most common are the abdomen, flanks, arms, thighs. The saddlebag lipo is a very good area to do since we get dramatic results in that area.

Q: How many treatments does it take?

A: One treatment is usually all it takes. The one treatment is considered permanent if they maintain their weight.

Q: Is SmartLipo Laser Liposuction FDA approved?

A: That´s a good question. Yes it is and surprisingly enough traditional liposuction was never FDA approved, it was done on millions of people and it was a safe and effective procedure, but SmartLipo Laser Liposuction is FDA approved.

Q: How long does the procedure take?

A: Procedure only takes an hour or two.

Q: How is the procedure performed?

A: First a small incision is made and a very small cannula is introduced to infiltrate the area with a local anesthetic. Once the area is numb, a laser is introduced into the incision inside a very small cannula. This supplies the laser energy to melt the fat. It is a very gentle procedure. The laser melts the fat and also coagulates the blood to help prevent bruising. This is all done in an office setting.

Q: What is the average cost?

A: It can range from $2500 to $5000 depending on the geographical area, depending on the area of the body, also depending on the surgeon doing it. A fair price though is about $2500 per area.