Smart Lipo All Over Again

Aha! Now I found "smart lipo" on the internet. This time the search revealed the term is trade-marked by Cynosure, one of the premier laser companies in the world. This new marketing initiative involves using a KTP laser which delivers energy through a fiber optic flexible cable. The cable is introduced to the fat through the skin and heats the fat until it destroys the cells. They claim for small areas they do not have to suction the soupy remains and for large areas they do. I did not see any studies to support their claims nor any reports of side effects. I will need to go through the literature that they site. In the meantime this is the same technology with a laser twist that I and others investigated and reported on using low frequency ultrasound in the mid 1990's. In addition I and colleagues reported on laser assisted liposuction in 2000 in peer reviewed literature. Once again we have a me-too product with no proof of superiority being hyped through the lay press so that patients are calling to find someone who pracitices this new revolutionary procedure. As I previously stated the only breakthroughs in liposculpting came in 1987 when Jeffrey Klein developed the tumescent technique of local anesthesia and microinstrumentation. All the rest has been introduction of different kinds of screw drivers to make the procedure better in someone's (usually the inventor's) hands. Ultimately liposculpting is an art and when a machine is developed to do the work there will be no need for a physician.
Perish the thought!