Patients now have more choices in body contouring that allow them options which range from non-surgical to minimally invasive. Those interested in shrinking a pocket of fat can do so with these options and avoid going under the knife altogether. Here's a fact sheet of information on several different body shaping options that leave liposuction behind.

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Laser Assisted Lipo

• There are several name brands available - SmartLipo, ProLipo, SlimLipo and more.
• A laser fiber is inserted through a small incision and delivers heat to melt fat and stimulate collagen growth. The emulsified fat is then removed with suction. Patients really enjoy the option of having skin tightening at the same time as their fat removal and they generally heal faster than with traditional liposuction.
• Dr. Thomas Barnes says in the Laser Lipolysis review, "You get what I call the thermal wound conversion due to the laser.... It really changes the cascade of the healing and you get people back to work in a few days instead of a week or two."

Tickle Lipo

• Using a special vibrating cannula that moves in several directions, the physician is able to break up and remove fat at the same time. This differs from laser lipo because it streamlines the process. However, because there is no heat delivered to the collagen, there isn't the skin tightening effect. Patients typically return to work in 2-3 days.
• Dr. Victoria Falcone reviews the Tickle Lipo device, "It differs because it's a vibrating, rotating, reciprocating cannula which means that the cannula actually moves so it gives us the ability to turbo infiltrate an area. All of my patients are awake when I do liposuction so the only discomfort they ever feel is when we put in the numbing solution. Of course the numbing solution goes in and it numbs them on contact so it's not a long period of discomfort, but with the vibration of the cannula it overrides the nerve fibers and makes it much more comfortable. Most of the patients say it tickles."

Vaser Lipo

• Waves of ultrasonic energy make their way through the fat, breaking it up for easy removal. The device is offered at several offices around the country and some physicians also use it for high def procedures that provide precision sculpting to reveal underlying muscle.
• Dr. David Broadway says in the ultrasonic liposuction review, "Ultrasound actually helps to emulsify the fat. It sort of shakes the grapes off the vine so to speak. That makes it easier to get the fat out. If it's easier to get the fat out, you're not carving on wood, you're carving on a block of butter and so it not only makes it much easier to get the fat out but also makes it much easier to sculpt people and that's really the goal. It's not to just volumetrically reduce people but to actually sculpt people."