What is laser liposuction?
Laser liposuction uses a laser to liquefy fat cells, Dr. Jeff Popp said. Then you go back and suck the liquified fat out.
“The sales pitch for laser liposuction is it’s smoother, faster, safer and offers better results and recovery. But that’s inaccurate,” he said.
There have been numerous side-by-side comparisons between laser liposuction and tumescent liposuction, Dr. Popp said. For example, he could do one hip and thigh with laser and the other hip and thigh with standard tumescent liposuction, and neither would prove its superiority.
“When you look at the speed of surgery, its cost, recovery and the final results, there’s little difference except laser liposuction is costlier, more time consuming and can be more dangerous, while not adding any long-term benefits over traditional tumescent liposuction,” he said.
“There’s more likelihood for complications because the laser can potentially burn through the skin.”
How do you care for your skin after liposuction?
Does resistance training help?
The short answer is “no.”
“Even if you do a thousand sit-ups to get rid of your beer gut, the fat you want to lose sits atop the muscle,” Dr. Popp said. “So you can exercise the muscle but it won’t affect the fat on top.”
He said resistance training is like changing wallpaper in your house. While it helps the interior, it does nothing to make the paint on the outside look better.
Dr. Popp recommends procedures like dermarolling or Exilis to help improve your skin’s appearance after liposuction.
Does post-liposuction massage help?
Sure, massage is good after liposuction, just not for your skin.
Massage actually breaks up any hardness in the fat below the skin and the minor scar tissue.
“Many people during the course of normal recovery develop a certain hardness, stiffness and lumpiness,” Dr. Popp said. “But that’s not a skin issue. It’s the fat space traumatized by the liposuction. Any trauma, surgical or accidental, causes scar tissue.”
Scars get softer more quickly if you massage them. But there’s also an important question of timing.
You’ll suffer if you get a massage too soon after liposuction.
“You won’t tolerate it because you’re too tender from the surgery. But once you get past that, everything should be fine,” he said.
But what if you don’t like massage? No worries. Scars do soften faster if you get a deep tissue massage on those areas. But if you don’t, time will soften them anyway.
Got a question for Dr. Popp? Call today and set up your free consultation, 402-391-4558.
