Rejuvena Smartlipo
As we age, many of us put on unwanted pounds in all the wrong places. Sometimes endless hours at the gym and years of dieting simply aren’t enough to help us find the body we would like to have. Maybe we’d like to look the way we did ten years ago or improve an area that’s just never looked the way we’d like it to look.
For years, the answer to this dilemma was painful, expensive cosmetic surgery with lengthy recovery time and a laundry list of possible complications, some life threatening. Now, with the approval of “Smartlipo” in the U.S., clinics have a new way to help those who have tried everything and just can’t obtain their ideal shape. Dr. Joan Hardt at Rejuvena Cosmetic Medical Center is leading the field in minimally invasive cosmetic medicine.
“We don’t use this as a substitute for weight loss or healthy eating,” Hardt said. “We’re minimally invasive for patients who don’t want to change their look, just improve it.”
Marcia Saban says she trusts Dr. Hardt. “I’ve been her patient for eighteen months. Besides her being very friendly, she’s very honest with you and if you request something that is not right for you, she will tell you,” said Saban, who has undergone Smartlipo at Rejuvena. “She’s always available for you; she’s always there. The staff is amazing. They make you feel at home.”
Saban went to different places in search of the Smartlipo procedure, but she didn’t feel comfortable at any of them. When she heard Rejuvena was doing the procedure, she called the same day.
“It’s affordable. It’s not like plastic surgery, where you have to have thousands of dollars to see the result,” Saban said. She also added that the downtime was minimal.
The average patient who undergoes Smartlipo can expect to return to work in just three days and start seeing a visible difference within a week. Since the process uses a laser, there is no swelling and bruising is minimal, if at all. That’s quite a contrast to traditional liposuction, where lengthy downtime and painful recovery are accepted as inevitable. Dr. Hardt and others in her field have proven that those negatives aren’t necessary.
“Don’t think twice because the results are phenomenal,” Saban said.
Originally from Brazil, Saban now lives in Edmond with her husband. She is a bladder cancer researcher for the OU Health Science Center so she’s no stranger to science and medicine. And even though she’s nearly sixty years old, she looks at least a decade younger, partially thanks to Smartlipo.
Saban was one of the first to receive Smartlipo at Rejuvena where she underwent the procedure on her neck in July. The neck is where most people show their age because even if you’ve taken care of your face, that telltale loose or wrinkly skin over your throat can give your secret away. Up until now, the only way to tighten the neck was through cutting, but since the advent of Smartlipo, a patient can have the layer of fat removed and tighten the skin it leaves behind.
In the past, that leftover skin could make a patient’s trouble area look worse than it did before the procedure. Now, over the course of three to six months, the skin heals and tightens from the thermal injury caused by the laser, leaving a youthful appearance rather than a baggy one.
“One of the things that makes it ultra-safe is that the patient is awake,” Dr. Hardt said.
The Smartlipo is relatively simple, and according to Saban, is pain-free. A small cannula with a laser tip is inserted through a small incision in the chin to dissolve the fat. The body will reabsorb it. The laser generates new collagen and reactivates elastin as it works, which is what leaves the neck looking slender, and with smoother skin than before the procedure.
The laser reaches the dermis without harming the outer layers of skin, and it does not disturb the nerves or blood vessels. The whole process takes about forty-five minutes and the final result is visible in just a few months. For larger areas, an ultrasonic liposuction process called VASER is used in conjunction with Smartlipo.
For more information about Smartlipo or other procedures offered by Dr. Hardt, visit www.rejuvenaclinic.com.
