Just to bring you all up to speed, there are currently two surgical treatments for Cellulite: Cellulaze and VASER Smooth
Do you have those puckered dimples and lumps on your hips, thighs and buttocks? Have you tried non-surgical means (massage, topical agents) with no improvement?
There is a reason why non-surgical means do not treat cellulite. The problem does not lie on the surface of the skin. Cellulite is a condition where there is dimpling in the skin due to fibrous bands that attach to the dermis on the underside of the
skin above and to the deep tissue and muscle below. These fibrous bands pull on the underside of the skin causing the dimpling. In the past, a vacuum (Endermologie) was applied to the surface of the skin to stretch these bands and pull up the skin. This did not work very well. As the problem is not the fat itself, losing weight won’t work as well. Neither will traditional liposuction, which is designed to remove fat. Remember, the fat itself isn’t the problem, so removing fat won’t correct the problem.
When treating cellulite, you can use either laser or ultrasound technology to treat the problem (the tissue bands within the skin). Cellulaze is an attachment sold by Cynosure for their Smart Lipo equipment. VASER Smooth is an attachment sold by Sound Surgical for their VASER ultrasound liposuction equipment. As this is extremely new technology, there are very few surgeons equipped to do this. On the VASER side, Sound Surgical has just started producing the equipment and I have one of the very first produced units.
VASER Smooth procedures are performed under local anesthesia, the same way as described above for liposuction. First, markings are placed on the skin in the preoperative area, noting both the peaks and valleys in the skin with different colored markers. Next, you are brought to the operating room. While you lie on the operating table, the affected areas are cleansed with antispetic solution. A few small (approximately 1/8 inch) incisions are made in the skin in areas less likely to be visible. Next, the VASER ultrasound probe is introduced painlessly under the skin through the fat. When the bands that tether the skin and cause dimpling are created, the edge of the probel is brought against the band and the ultrsound energy is turned on. This cuts the bands. After the bands are cut, any “peaks” of fat are taked down with the regular VASSER ultrsound probe and then a suction cannula. Lastly, the wounds are dressed. It’s that simple!
Downtime is minimal and scarring and bruising are minimal. You can return to work in a day or two, and resume regular exercise and normal activities in about two weeks.
Written by: Alexandra Scheiniger