Are non-surgical liposuction alternatives effective?

In a perfect world, with the press of a button or pass of a wand, unwanted fat can be melted away, instantly revealing a slimmer, more confident you. While this almost sounds like the making of a science fiction film, this is what many non-surgical liposuction technologies are claiming.

As time passes and technology advances, the cosmetic surgery patient has an increasing number of non-surgical options. In fact, it is hard to imagine a world without Botox and injectable dermal fillers. However, recently, their appears to be a shift from anti-aging endeavors to a new frontier- body sculpting. It seems every month a new liposuction alternative emerges promising to deliver results parallel to traditional, tumescent liposuction but with less cost, downtime and risk. While many non-surgical treatments have proven to be effective, do these new, lipo-alternative treatments produce results which actually live up to their claims? Lets explore three important aspects of treatment satisfaction: cost, results and required downtime.

Cost
Because surgical costs can add up quickly, one major appeal to non-surgical alternatives are their affordability factor. Yet many of these liposuction alternatives can cost up to $500 a session and require as many as 8 sessions for optimal results, not to mention the additional, routine maintenance visits. While cost is dependent upon several factors, if you compare the total expense of both surgical and non-surgical procedures, non-surgical alternatives can ultimately cost just as much, if not more, than liposuction surgery. Even more, your results may not meet your expectations.

Results
Because many of these technologies are considerably new to the market, sufficient testing and data may not exist. This equates to a certain level of unpredictability and uncertainty as it pertains to producible results and safety . As a lipo-alternative patient, it is possible to spend just as much as you would on liposuction surgery, but not reap the benefits or results if your treatment proves ineffective.

Recovery and Downtime
The distinct advantage non-surgical liposuction presents is less required downtime, or no downtime, while the typical downtime for liposuction surgery is anywhere from one to three weeks. But one must ask..what good does diminished downtime do if the results simply aren’t evident?

While all of this new technology is exciting, it important to note that the only real proven method of instant fat cell removal is liposuction surgery. Therefore, if you are looking for an alternative to liposuction surgery, your best bet is to exhaust all diet and exercise efforts. Hopefully one day a proven and more affordable alternative to liposculpture surgery will find its way to the market. Until then, we will have to slave away in the gym or brave it out for surgery. Unfortunately the old saying seems to remain true- if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

If you would like to schedule a complimentary liposuction consultation at Advanced Surgical Concepts, call 423-648-4011.