A killer window installation from a Hermes store. Fantastic use of attention-getting.

Liposuction: Is tumescent or laser liposuction better?

Plastic Surgeons today are using various types of liposuction. I prefer tumescent liposuction with thin cannulas instead of laser lipo. This is a manual method of liposuction that I believe yields the best liposuction result because the surgeon has the most amount of control.

Traditional tumescent liposuction

Tumescent liposuction has been around well over a decade and allows the surgeon to have complete control of the amount of fat being taken out. The  tumescent liposuction technique is mechanical as it involves the surgeon using a long rod called a cannula to extract the fat. The motion is a continuous back and forth rhythm to remove the fat. Since the motions are repeated over the course of 1-3 hours, your surgeon must be in good aeroebic shape to give YOU a good result!  Honestly, this is one reason why some surgeons do not use this technique!

While the basic technique used in tumescent liposuction has not changed, the size of the cannulas used to extract the fat have gotten much slimmer over the years. In the past, surgeons used larger 5mm cannulas , but  this sometimes resulted in lumpy or uneven results. Most surgeons now use 3mm or smaller cannulas.  This will increase the length of the surgery as it does take longer to remove the fat from small cannulas, but the results are well worth the longer surgical time!  The thinner 3mm cannulas produce excellent and consistent liposuction results. With thin cannulas, traditional tumescent liposuction can achieve the smoothest and most even result possible . 

Laser and ultrasonic liposuction

The new technologies for liposuction technique  include laser liposuction and ultrasonic liposuction. They emit high energy that liquefies and destroys tissue around the cannula. I do not think these technologies are worth the risks they pose to the patient. Both of these techniques essentially melt the fat under your skin. As they melt the fat, other tissues are damaged. I am not a fan of damaging tissue or fat cells that are not being extracted.  Often times, the extracted fat could be used for fat injections to rejuvenate another area of the patient’s body.  These technologies destroy that possibility. Additionally, these high energy ultrasound and laser technologies can have complications such as burning, and results can be very unpredictable as it is impossible to tell how much damaged tissue is left behind.

Best technique is tumescent liposuction with slender cannulas

In summary, the best technique available for liposuction is the  traditional tumescent liposuction technique with small diameter cannulas. It has stood the test of time. Sometimes the latest is not the greatest. I perform hundreds of liposuction procedures each year and I do not remember the last time a patient asked for a touch up for lumpiness or unevenness. Thin cannulas give you the best chance to get the result right each and every time!

Ricardo L Rodriguez, MD

Liposuction Training Video: Why thin liposuction cannulas give the best result.

Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez is a Yale trained, board certified plastic surgeon specializing in multiple procedure makeovers. He performs unique procedures such as the body lift, Brazilian butt lift, stem cell facelift, endoscopic brow lift, and lip lift. He is Medical Director of his own AAAASF accredited surgery center in Baltimore, Maryland.

First, if you're not blogging for your medical spa,  laser clinic or plastic surgery practice you're probably still using a rotary-dial telephone. Start.

Your patients are busy, and in order to gain and keep readership on your site you need to provide your existing and potential patients with information that makes their lives better, easier, and less stressful. Laser clinic or cosmetic surgery websites face the temptation of turning every post into a dry marketing appeal. It’s up to you as the physician or clinic owner to overcome that obstacle and provide your med spa patients information about your services in a quick and easily digestible way.

So the question is... How do you do that? Here are seven ways you can engage readers of your med spa or plastic surgery blog and keep them coming back.

1. Offer Real Medical Advice

You've got real medical experience, share it. (Yes, you do have to be careful so you don't get sued but post a clear disclaimer and be smart about your 'opinion'.) If you like Thermage or Fraxel, say it. The very best way to gain loyal readers is by sharing your knowledge and giving them practical information they can use to make decisions. You can give your readers an instant benefit by avoiding abstract ideas and providing specific tips, advice and tools they can use right away.

2. Talk to Your Existing Patients

You’re already ahead of the game with this one, because your existing plastic surgery or med spa patients already have a connection to you, otherwise they wouldn’t be reading your blog. Better yet, impressing them leads to greater word of mouth referral. Get to know them by keeping an eye on comments (allow comments on your blog and don't delete them unless they're way over the line), watching for trackbacks and listening to feedback in other forums. All of this input can be material you can use to make your posts resonate with your individual readers.

3. Share Personal Stories

Business is business and personal is personal, right? Not anymore. Today there is an increasing amount of overlap between the two, and people want to know a little more about the person behind the med spa, laser clinic or plastic surgery center, beyond a cv and medical marketing speak. So give a little of yourself to create a stronger relationship with your readers. Women (and our market is women) want to know that they can trust you. If all you ever post is your latest laser hair removal ad, you're just not as trustworthy as a the plastic surgeon who loves his kids and has a dog.

4. Go Non-Surgical Again

Throw in an occasional post that’s not exactly med spa or plastic surgery related. If it bombs, it bombs and you know to go a different route next time. But if it is successful, you can insert some comic relief, mindless banter and maybe even a personal story as listed above to give your patients a brief change of pace. Talk about how expensive Botox is. How Thermage charges for every tip you burn. How you worry about providing the best patient care.

5. Keep It Short and Sweet

You could probably write some very long posts when you’re discussing your latest business endeavor or what it took to build out your med spa or plastic surgery practice. If that much information is necessary, split it up into a multi-part series. Use lists, subheads and images to break up heavy content whenever possible.

6. Share The Conversation With Your Patients

Ask directed and specific questions at the end of your posts to encourage reader commentary. For every few posts where you provide advice, throw in a post that asks for the answer. Involving your readers will give them an opportunity to take an active role in your blog. Ask them if they'd like a membership as part of your offering. Talk about your patient referral perks. Ask who they think provides the best patient care. Ask if they can help your med spa provide better care...

7. Give Potential Patients What They Want

Carefully read the comments provided by your existing and potential patients. They are invaluable because they allow you to tailor your posts to the information your readers are asking you to provide. Acknowledge the comments, answer the questions, and address the requests and you’re on your way to building great relationships with your readers.

8. Bonus: Protect Your Med Spa or Plastic Surgery Practice

OK I said seven ways. Here's a bonus.

Of course I'm not a lawyer... (see how I carfully did that) but your medical opinions are your own. Keep a clearly defined page that states that the content of your site is not to be used as medical advice and shouldn't be acted on without consulting a physician. There are any number of medical blogs that write about specific cases with this kind of disclaimer in place.

If you want to be remarkable you have to provide an experience worth telling someone about.

Of course you looked at the image to the right. It's an ad for a condom and meant to get your attention.

Word of mouth marketing is one of your best friends as a medical spa. Happy clients bring in their friends and family. But what are you doing to make your medspa stand out? What is it about your clinic that's worth actually remarking about 'before' being asked?

Happy patients who like you are just a base line an a relatively low hurdle if you know anything at all about what you're doing and have the right IPLs or lasers. But clinics who are really making money have often learned that moving a patient from happy or satisfied to a zealot that actively seeks out opportunites to mention them can double their revenue. (Everyone has a couple of zealots. I'm talking about a large percentage of patients.)

The image above is unexpected and different, so it attracts interest and comment.

If you want to have patients remarking about you, you have to actually be remarkable.

If your laser clinic or plastic surgery center is not generating 'remarks' from your patients, do something that does.

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Through the partnership of MedicalSpaRx.com and MedicalSpaMd.com we now offer you a new purchasing option so you can save even more. By selecting the option Group Buy above, your order will become a part of a group buy with other clients, getting you the absolute lowest price possible.

When you chose the group buy option, you order will not be shipped to you immediately. Instead, your order will only be shipped once there are enough orders collected to meet the minimum amount for the Group Buy. You will receive your order approximately 10 working days after this has been met.

The Group Buy option does take much longer to get your order, but it gives you the ability to make uncomparable savings. So, if you can wait longer, or order ahead of time, the Group Buy option will be perfect for you.

If you need your order urgently and can not wait that long for the Group Buy, we still offer our regular services at the most competitive prices around.

Allergan Inc (AGN.N) on Thursday said its quarterly profit rose, as sales of anti-wrinkle drug Botox rebounded from an earlier slump and helped offset lower sales of medical devices.

The company's third-quarter earnings increased 8 percent to $179 million, or 58 cents per share, compared with $165 million, or 54 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Excluding special items, Allergan earned 70 cents per share. Analysts on average expected 69 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company's shares were up 1.2 percent at $54.20 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Allergan said global sales rose 4.2 percent to $1.13 billion in the quarter, somewhat higher than analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion.

Sales of Botox rose about 3 percent to $328 million, following declines in earlier quarters that the company had attributed to waning use of cosmetic procedures during the economic downturn.

For full-year 2009, Allergan forecast earnings of $2.75 to $2.77 per share, excluding special items, compared with Wall Street expectations of $2.75 per share.

The company said it expects full-year sales of $4.35 billion to $4.4 billion, compared with Wall Street forecasts of $4.32 billion.