For many years, doctors have used liposuction to sculpt body lines and remove unsightly fat. However, traditional liposuction has disadvantages since it needs to use mechanical suction to break up fat cells. Liposuction can result in postoperative pain, swelling, and bruising, since blood vessels and nerves can get caught up in the suction. A new procedure, SmartLipo laser lipolysis has many advantages. Rather than rely upon mechanical suction, in SmartLipo the laser energy breaks up the fat cells, in a process known as lipolysis. A tiny catheter about 1 millimeter in size is inserted under the skin and used to break up the fat cells. The SmartLipo Laser Body Sculpting system is ushering in a new area of body sculpting. It is often referred to as “lunchtime lipo”, because of the quick recovery time and the fact that some people return to regular daily activities within a day. The laser causes the blood vessels to coagulate immediately, so people are left with less bruising, less swelling, and less pain. SmartLipo Laser Body Sculpting also seems to tighten the skin. The energy released by the laser coagulates tissue, and this coagulation can tighten the skin. This is an important advantage over traditional liposuction, because traditional liposuction can make areas with loose skin look even worse, because underlying fat is suctioned out form under the skin. The SmartLipo laser can actually tighten the skin. The minimal size of the SmartLipo probe together with the precise laser attributes make it ideal for sculpting areas that are difficult to get with liposuction, such as the areaunder the chin and the jowls, the fat deposits under the arms, which many refer to as “batwings”, and other localized areas. The SmartLipo laser body sculpting system truly offers many options and features not possible traditional liposuction.