Why Liposuction Is Better Than the New Non-surgical Alternatives

Non-surgical skin care treatments have been booming in popularity in recent years. As cosmetic injectables and skin resurfacing procedures have surged, it’s no surprise that non-surgical body sculpting treatments have been developed as an alternative to liposuction for targeted cosmetic fat removal.

Numerous people in the Philadelphia, PA area have asked our cosmetic surgeons about these new, non-invasive fat removal procedures. The Jefferson Plastic Surgery team would like to cover some of them briefly and then discuss why liposuction is often a better option for patients.

Popular Non-surgical Alternatives to Liposuction

The most popular non-surgical alternatives to liposuction are:

• CoolSculpting - The most popular non-surgical liposuction alternative, CoolSculpting uses cold energy to freeze away unwanted fat cells.
• Sculpsure - Sculpsure uses targeted heat and light energy to eliminate unwanted fat cells.
• Vanquish - Similar to sculpture, Vanquish heats away fat cells but uses radiofrquency energy.
• Zerona - Like CoolSculpting, Zerona relies on cold energy to freeze away unwanted fat cells.

Liposuction Can Remove More Fat

The non-surgical liposuction alternatives above are good at removing a little bit of body fat. If you’re basically at your ideal weight and have just a small amount of unwanted flab, non-surgical fat removal may be ideal.

By comparison, liposuction can safely eliminate up to 10 pounds of body fat. This means more dramatic fat removal outcomes for patients, and potentially better body contouring results overall.

Liposuction Can Treat More Parts of the Body

Non-surgical fat removal is good for treating the most common problem areas of the body where body fat is likely to accumulate. This means the love handles, the lower stomach, the flanks, the thighs, and the buttocks. Treating other parts of the body can be more challenging.

Liposuction uses a narrow cannula to remove body fat. This means that liposuction is great for targeting more parts of the body with unwanted pockets of body fat. This includes performing liposuction on the neck and parts of the lower face.

Liposuction Is Better at Precise Fat Removal

When non-surgical fat removal procedures are performed, they tend to eliminate fat cells in the general treatment area. This is good for reducing body fat around the flanks, but it doesn’t offer the extremely targeted fat removal that some patients desire.

Since liposuction uses a cannula to remove fat, plastic surgeons are better able to sculpt and reduce the appearance of fat in precise ways. This means more dramatic results not just in terms of the volume of fat removed but the portions of fat removed.

Liposuction Has a Proven Track Record

The new non-surgical fat removal procedures are popular, but they have not been around as long as liposuction. Because of this, we have yet to see if there are long-term side effects from these procedures as well as some unforeseen risks.

Liposuction has decades of refinement and a long record of success and patient satisfaction. Our team of cosmetic surgeons has helped many patients thanks to liposuction, whether performed on its own or in combination with other body contouring surgeries.

Speak with Our Cosmetic Surgeons

If you would like more information about improving your appearance, enhancing your body contour, and helping you look your best, contact our experienced cosmetic surgeons. Jefferson Plastic Surgery will discuss liposuction with you in more detail.