SmartLipo: Is it the Right Choice For You?

by Beth Munoz

Posted on Thursday 9th of October 2008

Medicine has certainly come a long way from its rudimentary beginnings. Back then, medicine was only meant to save a life, not enhance it. People had to look the way that they looked for their entire lives, with clothing and makeup as their only means of enhancing their appearance.

Now, procedures like SmartLipo can help people in ways that they would never have before thought possible. Being overweight is the main source of dissatisfaction amongst many people's own appearances. So, people try to go to the gym and exercise, frantically hoping to burn off the calories.

People also try dieting – some to an extreme level, such as taking diet pills. Diet pills are not safe in any way, and some people have actually ended up dying because of them. While a healthy diet and daily exercise are indeed very important, some people don’t actually end up losing the weight, which is part of the reason they turn to procedures like SmartLipo.

Why can't some people naturally get rid of the weight? Because they have a genetic predisposition to having a heftier frame. Their metabolism simply cannot adjust itself to sufficiently lose the amount of weight that is necessary in order to maintain proper health. However, thanks to the advances of medical technology, people have the option of safely removing weight through SmartLipo.

What is SmartLipo, anyway? Well, it is a new procedure that is a cousin to the well-known weight loss surgical procedure, liposuction. However, they really are not as similar as one would think, since the former is far more advanced than the later. In the new procedure, only a small incision is made in the fat area, into which a small tube is inserted. The fat is pumped out in the same manner as liposuction, but it is liquefied during the process and safely drained out of the body.

What are the advantages to this new procedure? Because of the small incision, there is almost no chance of there being any visible scarring. Also, since it is minimally invasive, that means that the patient can be awake during the procedure. With the other procedure, the patient had to be fully sedated, which meant there was more of an opportunity to have serious side effects.

This procedure is also FDA approved, which means that the techniques used to complete the procedure have been deemed as safe. This also means that the procedure itself has been regulated – too many weight-loss procedures are performed in variations. People also like this procedure because it is less costly than the average weight-loss procedure. Many surgeons realize the demand for such a procedure, and are thus also offering flexible payment plans.

As for the recovery time, that too is short – a couple of days is the average. However, it is important to mention that while this procedure seems ideal, it still does carry some risks with it, such as infections, clotting, and nerve damage. Also, be aware that while this procedure offers a weight-loss alternative, it is up to you to maintain your results through healthy eating and exercise.