Smart Lipo- good choice?

I am 31 and have heavy arms but am otherwise in good shape with good skin quality.  I am 5'3 and 125lbs. When I pinch the back of my upper arm I have at least an inch of fat between my fingers. (Thanks Mom!)

I am interested in Smart Lipo because it seems to have less adverse effects due to the cool laser and local anesthesia. There is also the additional promise of some  tightening of the skin.

The major barrier to me getting this procedure is the fear that I may end up with uneven lumps on my arms that will be less appealing than my current fat arms.

Are there any large scale studies on the percentage of people who end up with uneven lumps?

Also is there any clinical difference between using the laser only versus laser and suction?

Thank you.

[Howard Rosenberg, MD]

Liposuction of the inner arms is a common procedure that can be very successful when performed by a careful and experienced surgeon.  While I have heard of anecdotal reports of better skin retraction with the use of a laser as an adjunct to liposuction, it is my belief that the results of this surgery are more operator dependent than technique dependent.  In other words, I would place more weight on the surgeon you choose rather than whether he/she owns a $95,000 Smartlipo machine. (In addition, every other laser company out there is probably in development of similar or better products that will appear over the next several years.)

Finally, every patient undergoing liposuction (laser or not) has temporary lumps that disappear with time.  Uneven results after surgery are most often due to over-aggressive treatment (laser or not).