FAQ's
How much weight will I lose with liposuction?
Liposuction is not for weight loss or cellulite eradication. Liposuction removes deposits of excess fat from specific areas for a better-proportioned body contour.
What areas can be liposuctioned?
The most common areas patients choose to have contoured are the abdomen, flanks or love handles, knees, inner and outer thighs, hip rolls and necks.
Will my clothing size change?
Because the excess fat has been removed your clothes should fit you more comfortably and you may find that you can wear a smaller size. Some of our patients have gone from a tight 12-14 to a 2-6 with out any change in diet or exercise. Results vary on every individual.
Will the fat come back?
As long as you maintain your postoperative weight, your new contour will be permanent. Most patients have seen that after the "storage" of fat has been removed with SmartLipo they see weight loss due to metabolism restructuring since the "storage" fat has been removed. The process of post SmartLipo patients have great results with skin tightening and contiues for up to to 6 months. However, the final result may not be visible until several months have passed.This procedure is done as an out patient procedure. Depending on how many site(s) it can be done in as little as an hour.
When will I be able to resume my normal activities?
Most people can return to work in a day or two and normal exercise within 2 weeks.
HOW IT WORKS
Dr. Vagotis makes a tiny incision (so small they do not require suturing), and then infiltration of tumescent (numbing solution) to the areas. Then after the area is numb; she inserts the tiny cannula that holds the laser probe, no bigger than a ballpoint pen refill! The laser heats and melts the fat, which is then removed by a tiny suction cannula.
Down Time for Smartlipo is much shorter than traditional liposuction. Most patients return to work or normal activity in 2-3 days. Results are immediate.
Expect swelling and tenderness for approximately 2 weeks. Bruising is common. A compression garment is recommended for 2 weeks to help in healing and maintain a smooth approach to the skin tightening that will keep improving up to 6 months.
Vaser liposuction is ultrasound liposuction, but unlike traditional ultrasound liposuction, Vaserlipo utilizes tumescent anesthesia, which negates the risk of being put under a general anesthesia. You'll be awake for the procedure with both Smartlipo and Vaser tumescent lipo body contouring.
The Best feature of Vaser liposuction, though, is fat harvesting and transfer. We can take fat from on area and inject the harvested fat into another area. This gives us endless possibilities for body sculpting.
Tumescent Liposuction or “Tumescent Lipo sculpting” SMARTLIPO procedure is one of the safest, most effective methods of liposuction, and has been available since the mid-1980s. Although tumescent liposuction is relatively new in the world of cosmetic surgery, it has become extremely popular because of its unique combination of safety and accuracy. Tumescent liposuction is simplified compared to other liposuction methods. The tumescent liposuction advantage is two-fold: first; it only requires local anesthesia, and second; it is minimally invasive requiring only a few tiny incisions. Those factors reduce the recovery time to about 24-48 hours. All liposuction surgical techniques are meant to improve the body's contour by removing fat deposits located between the skin and muscle but the tumescent liposuction technique can do this much more accurately and remove more of the fat layer. This is possible because in tumescent liposuction, the patient is usually awake which allows the surgeon to feel the patient's muscle tone alongside the fat layer. This is a huge advantage of tumescent liposuction and really lets an experienced surgeon in the tumescent technique take more fat than tradition liposuction methods. When a patient is more sedated as with more traditional liposuction methods, the surgeon usually errors on the side of being more conservative in the removal of fat.
Tumescent Liposuction Technology
Tumescent liposuction, sometimes referred to as lipo sculpting, incorporates use of a very small stainless steel tube called a cannula (from the Latin word for reed, tube, cane). The cannula used in tumescent liposuction is connected to a powerful vacuum and inserted into the fat through small incisions in the skin. Fat removal is accomplished as the suction cannula creates tiny tunnels through the fatty layers. After a tumescent liposuction, as the body heals the patient is left with a much thinner fat layer. Many modified forms of tumescent liposuction exist today with different levels of sedation. The word "tumescent liposuction" comes from the true essence and definition of tumescent anesthesia. The definition of Tumescent anesthesia is to use local anesthesia to inject or "tumescent" (make firm with fluid) the fat and skin layers. Tumescent anesthesia not only makes the areas numb, but also acts to constrict the blood vessels in the area so there is almost negligible blood loss. This is truly what leads to such a rapid recovery when your surgeon uses the tumescent liposuction technique. | 
About Us
Francine L. Vagotis M.D., F.A.C.S. 
