Low-Level Laser-Assisted Liposuction: A 2004 Clinical Study of its Effectiveness for Enhancing Ease of Liposuction Procedures and Facilitating the Recovery Process for Patients Undergoing Thigh, Hip, and Stomach Contouring

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this IRB approved, multicenter, partially double-blind study was to determine the effectiveness of low-level laser-assisted liposuction in decreasing the patients' degree of postoperative discomfort, reducing swelling, enhancing wound healing at surgical entry points, decreasing the use of recovery medications for pain management, facilitating fat extraction for the surgeon, enhancing the emulsification of extracted fat, and decreasing surgical time spent to obtain optimal results. Materials and Methods: The Erchonia EML, 635-nm, 14-mW dual-diode low-level laser was used to irradiate the target tissue for 12 minutes after infiltration of tumescent fluid. Results: Of the 36 test-group patients who received laser treatment, 75% met their major success criteria compared with 32% of the 34 placebo-group patients who received “fake” treatment. Success criteria were defined as at least a 30% difference between groups. Forty-three percent more of the test subjects than placebo subjects met success criteria, exceeding the target by 13%. Discussion: The Erchonia EML Laser is an effective device for assisting liposuction procedures with low-level laser therapy. It significantly enhances the ease of performing liposuction procedures; reduces the time in surgery; enhances the ease of facilitating fat extraction; enhances the emulsification of extracted fat; facilitates the recovery process; decreases the patients' degree of postoperative discomfort, decreases swelling; and decreases the use of recovery medications for pain management for patients undergoing body contouring in the areas of the thighs, hips, and stomach.