The new machine is known as the ‘CoolSculpting Device’. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have already approved it’s use and one machine is already operating in a London clinic.

CoolSculpt is said to cost around a quarter of the price of a similar liposuction operation and the patient can expect to be worked on for between one and three hours. Because the CoolSculpt treatment is non-invasive, patients are able to go home immediately after the beauty treatment has been completed.

The CoolSculpting device has been developed by Californian company Zeltiq. Scientists there realised that although fat freezes at a lower temperature than other types of tissue, skin and muscles can survive sub-zero temperatures without suffering lasting damage. CoolSculpt takes this principle to help freeze and kill fat cells. A gel patch is clamped onto the relevant body part and the fat cells there are frozen. The sub-zero temperatures cause the fat cells to die and the body naturally then flushes them away over the coming months. Patients should not feel any pain during the procedure however they may feel an ‘intense cold’ around the area which should disappear after a short period of time. The results are not instant however the fat in the localised area should begin to recede over the coming days and months.

The company claims that they have followed several patients over a three year period and the fat has not returned.

The CoolSculpt beauty treatment is suitable for those looking to get rid of their bingo wings, love handles, beer belly or small areas of excess fat. It is not suitable for those who are obese.

(Photo Credit: Konrad Mostert)

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Advanced laser lipolysis is not made for obese people – rather, it is a way of getting rid of stubborn fat that diet and exercise won’t shift: Think saddle bags, muffin tops and bingo wings.

The procedure involves firstly being given local anaesthetic injections around the areas where fat will be removed. Tiny incisions are then made and a mix of saline, anaesthetic and adrenaline is injected – the adrenaline is there to help close off local blood vessels to minimise bleeding. When the area is suitably numb, the laser is then used to start liquefying the fat which is then sucked out.

In the first instance, little or no weight will have been lost despite the fat removal because it has been replaced with the saline solution.

The areas that have been worked on will be bandaged up with surgical dressings and after an hour or so waiting, the patient can usually go home.

Antibiotics and painkillers will usually be prescribed by the cosmetic surgeon and patients are warned to expect some ‘seepage’ from their wounds. There will also be a fair amount of bruising around the incision areas.

Read our free guide to Smart-Lipo.

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Cosmetic surgeon Patrick Mallucci believes he has come up with a cosmetic surgery procedure that will put an end to these unsightly rolls of fat. Dubbed ‘superficial liposuction’, his cosmetic surgery removes stubborn fat which is resistant to diet and exercise.

Liposuction normally removes deep fat via small skin incisions. However Mallucci’s new liposuction operation only removes fat from the superficial layer, and this helps reduce trauma and bruising. The surgery focuses on fat which is stored in the higher areas of the skin where the dermis meets the subcutaneous fat. By removing some of this fat, the operation may help the patient left with tighter-looking skin.

This ‘superficial liposuction’ is not just for muffin tops – it can be used on most areas of the body and is particularly useful where contouring is required.

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Dubbed the ‘two-in-one’ operation, cosmetic surgeons first remove fat from unwanted areas such as the thighs, stomach and hips and transplant this fat into the breast area to enhance and enlarge the breasts.

The cosmetic surgery will be available in the UK for the first time early next year thanks to cosmetic surgery company the Harley Medical Group.

Fat grafting is not a new technique however it hasn’t been widely available for cosmetic surgery patients. Over the past few years, various studies have looked at the results of both UK and US patients to determine whether the results of such fat grafting operations are long-term of not. The results so far have been encouraging and thus it is hoped that the technique will become more widespread soon.

With many people still worried over the safety of breast implants, it is expected that the fat grafting cosmetic surgery operation will be extremely popular and will soon become one of the most requested forms of breast enlargement.

Initial results show that patients are able to increase the size of their breasts by up to three cup sizes in just one operation, whilst also having some of their unwanted fat removed.

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The Zerona laser fat removal procedure works by using a low-level Erchnoia laser (which is also used in liposuction and in the treatment of acne) to emit cold laser energy into the areas with problem fat. The fat is said to be broken down by the laser pulses and channelled out of the body naturally. It is claimed that using this laser fat removal technique, patients can expect to see a loss of up to nine inches in the affected area.

The pilot studies showed that patients could lose up to nine inches after their first set of treatments with the average loss being five to six inches in just two weeks. No side effects were reported. Many people were excited by the news of the Zerona laser fat removal technique because it means weight loss without the pain of diet or exercise, and it is a non-invasive procedure therefore there is no recovery time after treatment.

However there are no long-term studies on the effects of using the laser in this manner so it is unknown what the long-term side effects, if any, are of this technique. There is also no research to show whether patients kept the inches off or whether the fat regained the inches in the short-term.

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Vibration Assisted Liposuction, which is sometimes also known as Nutational Infrasonic Liposuction (NIL) uses a cannula activated by air pressure. This air pressure creates a vibration which moves the tip of the cannula in a circular motion. This then allows the cosmetic surgeon to remove particular areas of fat and sculpt the patient.

The vibration frequency is set to 10 Hz and the vibrations caused during vibration assisted liposuction are said to release endorphins which increases the patient’s level of comfort. The cannulas are also not heated, as they normally are with traditional liposuction techniques.

It is said that vibration assisted liposuction causes less pain overall for the patient, less swelling and bruising thanks to less trauma to the tissue, and this means patients have a better and faster recovery.

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SmartLipo was launched in the UK in June 2006 and is a revolutionary evolution of the standard cosmetic surgery procedure, liposuction.

Often marketed as Laser Lipolysis or Laseripolisi (often misspelled Lipolisis) , the procedure works by using a laser to target fatty areas. The laser helps to break down the membranes of the fat cells, turning them into an oily liquid. This liquid is then either removed by suction, or through the body’s natural processes.

It is said that SmartLipo is far less traumatic on the body than the more traditional liposuction procedure with the operation involving almost no loss of blood. The heating action of the laser used in the cosmetic surgery is also thought to help tighten the skin by stimulating collagen production. SmartLipo is also said to cause less swelling and bruising than standard liposuction, ensuring a quicker recovery time for the patient.

How Does SmartLipo Work?

SmartLipo uses a 1064nm Nd: YAG pulsed laser. An anaesthetic is first given the patient – often, just a local anaesthetic is needed thanks to the small cannula that is used and the fact that the laser causes small blood vessels to coagulate on contact meaning almost no loss of blood during the operation.

A small incision is made in the skin around the area that the patient wished to have the fat removed from. A small cannula (tube) which contains a laser fibre is inserted into this incision. The cannula is then moved backwards and forwards to deliver the laser pulse to the fat cells. The laser causes the fat cells to rupture, and the fat can then either be drained via low level suction or with a syringe, or can be left for the body to dispose of naturally.

The results of SmartLipo will become apparent after a couple of weeks. If the surgeon has chosen to allow the body to dispose of the excess fat naturally, it may be several months before you see the full results of this cosmetic procedure. As long a sensible diet is maintained in the future, the results of the operation are permanent.

What Areas Can SmartLipo Treat?

Because the cannula used in the procedure is so small, many focused areas of the body can be targeted. As well as the ‘normal’ areas that liposuction can treat such as the stomach, thighs and hips, SmartLipo is also popular for treating:
- double chins
- under the arms (‘bingo wings’)
- knees
- calves
- hips
- outer thighs (‘saddlebags’)
- waist (‘love handles’)
- back
- bra strap area

What Are SmartLipo’s Side Effects?

Any operation has it’s risks, however because SmartLipo does not require general anaesthetic and because blood loss is kept to a minimum, it is generally seen as less risky than liposuction.

Some of the potential side effects of having SmartLipo include:
- Minor swelling, bruising and tenderness for a couple of weeks after surgery
- Infection and haematoma (where blood collects under the skin)
- Lop-sided results

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However a new technique known as SonoSculpt may soon radically change the face of liposuction surgery. SonoSculpt is an innovative new liposuction technique that does not require surgery. Instead, the procedure involves using ultrasound technology to melt away the fat – high energy ultrasound beams are directed into the target fatty areas and the fat starts to break down. The surrounding tissues are left unaffected by the treatment and the body will naturally get rid of the broken down fat.

The SonoSculpt process is not 100% understood quite yet – the technique has been around for several years however it is still uncertain quite what happens to the fat after the ultrasound beam ‘melts’ it. At present LipoSonix, who invented the technique, believe that the body’s immune system responds to the melted fat, helping the body digest some of the fat cells and letting the bloodstream take some of the other fat cells away.

UltraShape is a similar non-invasive liposuction technique that is already popular in parts of Europe, although it is currently yet to be approved by the FDA for use in America.

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Bittner has written on his website that many of his patients encourage him to use their excess fat and that by doing so, he is helping to save the planet through the use of his ‘lipodiesel.’

Biodiesel is more commonly made from vegetable oils, although some biodiesel is derived from beef or pig products. Animal and vegetable fats are turned into the fuel by extracting the triglycerides from the fat and converting them into a fuel.

Bittner claims to have been in practice for over 10 years, treating over 40,000 patients. His clinic offered liposculpture, heralding the procedure as a minimally invasive technique that allows a patient to remain awake during surgery, and allow for more precise results.

Unfortunately for Bittner, it is illegal in America to use human medical waste for automotive purposes and therefore California’s public health department have stepped in to investigate Bittner’s claims. The controversy doesn’t end there for the cosmetic surgeon either – there are claims that there are several complaints against the plastic surgeon that he removed too much fat and left patients disfigured, whilst others allege that he has allowed his assistant and his girlfriend to perform the liposuction surgery despite not having medical licenses. In light of all the controversies, it appears that Dr. Bittner has chosen to relocate to South America for the time being.

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Surgeons in New York have reported a number of women coming to them for liposuction to give them more slender shoulders such as those sported by Keira Knightley. These women are requesting that as much fat as possible be taken away from the shoulder area to give them a more toned and sinewy look.

The procedure is done under local anaesthetic and costs will be around the $4,000 – $10,000 mark. Small cuts that are a maximum of half a centimetre long are made in natural creases and shadows around the shoulders with fat then suctioned out using curved suction wands. Laser treatments are sometimes also used before the incisions are made to help melt the fat cells and make them easier to suck out.

Most women who decide to go ahead with the shoulder liposuction will need to take a couple of days off work – many choose to have the surgery on a Thursday or a Friday and will return to work on the Monday. After a fortnight, most of the bruising and swelling from the operation should be gone.

So far, the craze seems to be centred in America only however many believe it is only a matter of time before fashion conscious women in other countries pick up on this bizarre cosmetic surgery trend.

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