Vasersmooth Fort Lauderdale
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Dr. Jeffery LaGrasso was one of the first surgeons in the country to offer VASERsmooth™ cellulite reduction. Dr. LaGrasso is one of the foremost VASER experts in the world and one of a select few certified in and teaches a technique called VASER High Definition Body Sculpting.
VaserSmooth for Cellulite Reduction TV Interview with Dr. LaGrasso
VASERsmooth™ offers patients for the 1st time a minimally invasive permanent method to reduce the appearance of cellulite with minimal downtime.
How Does VASERsmooth™ work?
This unique technique works through the use of high frequency ultrasound at 36,000 Hertz known as VASER technology. VASERsmooth™ is a specifically designed ultrasound powered probe that has a cutting edge about 2 cm’s from the blunt tip.
This advanced instrument allows our doctor to break up the vertically oriented fibrous bands that hold the clumpy, lumpy fat. Additionally, the tip of the ultrasound probe delivers ultrasound energy to liquefy the fat thus smoothing out the adjacent areas. Areas of excess bulging of fat can also be reduced through the use of VASER micro-cannula liposculpting. The doctor will then take that liquefied fat and use it to fill in indentations or large dimples in the treatment areas. The “cobblestone” or “orange peel” appearance of cellulite, which is causing skin dimpling and contour irregularities, is more efficiently and effectively treated than ever before by VASERsmooth™.
The advantage of VASERsmooth™ over Laser technologies, such as Cellulaze (Cynosure), is that the procedure is that VASERsmooth™ is twice as fast with a much safer safety profile. Unfortunately, Laser technologies, such as Cellulaze, destroy fat cells due to the excessive heat the laser emits. Thus, fat and stem cells collected cannot be used to fill in any excessive dimpling like the fat removed by VASERsmooth™ can. VASERsmooth™ is twice as fast with less bruising, quicker healing and offers the unique ability to harvest fat to fill in dimpled areas of skin.
VASERsmooth™ also reduces cellulite through tissue tightening, cutting those fibrous bands and by promoting your body’s creation of new collagen and alterations of the current collagen fibers. Additionally, 85% of fat cells and 87% of stem cells mobilized by VASER energy is alive and viable for fat and stem cell grafting both into the areas of indentations as well as under the entire skin areas treated. We use this technique as well for VASER High Definition Body Sculpting and often uses fat derived from the tummy to transplant into areas of the face or Brazilian Butt Lift.
The advantage of this transplanted fat alone or coupled with either stem and regenerative cells or platelet rich fibrin (PRF), is that all these components have growth factors vital to healing and regenerating a thicker and rejuvenated skin.
Well first know that you’re not alone. Cellulite affects an estimated 85% of post-pubescent women and weight has little to do with it. We have paper thin models that come in for cellulite treatments. The association with woman is linked to the effect of estrogen hormone on the skin and soft tissues, which we do not fully understand. The cellulite results in dimpled, uneven skin with a cobblestone or orange peel appearance.
The most common areas of the woman’s body affected by cellulite are the posterior thigh and the buttock; however, cellulite may affect other areas as well:
- Buttocks
- Thighs
- Midsection
- Flanks
- Back
In order to optimize the treatment result, it is important to grade the severity of cellulite prior to commencing treatment. The Universal Cellulite Grading System developed in 1972, the Nurenberger-Muller Grading Scale, was chosen to ensure uniformity in cellulite assessment. There are four grades of cellulite ranging from grade 0-3:
Grade 0: “No cellulite”. There is no visible cellulite while standing. With pinching the skin, there is no appearance of cellulite. This grade of cellulite is rare and very desirable.
Grade 1: “Tight cellulite”. There is no cellulite when standing, however, when one pinches the skin of the thigh/buttock or when the thigh/buttock muscles are contracted, one will see the appearance of orange peel or mattress appearance of the skin. The pinch test should be painless and the skin-fold small.
Grade 2: “Loose cellulite”. There is visible cellulite while standing, but it is not visible when lying. The cellulite is visible when the subject contracts the buttocks or when the skin is pinched. The skin is generally loose and has a painless skin pinch.
Grade 3: There is visible cellulite while standing and in the supine position. Some refer to this as “painful cellulite”, any type of cellulite, which is characterized by significant tenderness during the pinch test.
How is VASERsmooth™ procedure done?
The procedure begins with the administration of a small amount of local anesthesia or depending on the amount of cellulite, sleep induced anesthesia can be used as well. Thereafter, one or more small incisions (about 1/8 inch) are made near the treatment site. A very narrow cannula will then be inserted through this incision and water with numbing medication (lidocaine) and a medication to stop bleeding (adrenalin) is infiltrated into the targeted cellulite area.
Controlled ultrasound energy is delivered through a minute sized laser fiber to the treatment site. If needed, we will perform VASER liposuction and harvest fat for injection into excessively dimpled areas. The goal is to provide a smooth skin contour that may be permanent.
VASERsmooth™ in the extremely qualified hands of our doctor finally offers patients a solution for cellulite that just a few years ago was not thought possible.
What can I expect during my recovery from VASERsmooth™?
Patients usually have one or two small incisions that should be dressed with a simple Band-Aid. Fluid may leak from the incisions for the first 18-24 hours post-treatment. Mild swelling peaks at two days after the procedure and 90% is resolved by one week. Mild, and rarely moderate bruising is experienced, which is resolved in most patients by 10 days. Pain medications may be used from one to three days, although the area is sore for about 10-14 days. Most patients return to work in just one or two days.
Light exercise can resume at one week and regular exercise at two weeks post-treatment. A compression garment is recommended to wear for a three week duration.
VaserSmooth Before & After Photos
