VASER® Shape body contouring | Vanek Plastic Surgery, Cleveland

Vaser® Shape body contouring at Vanek Plastic Surgery

“What could be better than entering a relaxing medispa environment, pointing to the area on your body you’d like to be smaller, being massaged with an ultrasound wand and getting up an hour later to see that you are one inch smaller in that area?” says Dr. Paul Vanek, a board-certified general and plastic surgeon. VASER® Shape is a revolutionary body contouring technology that is a cellulite treatment laser. They want to be able to come into an office and leave thinner that day, with no surgery, no anesthesia, and no downtime.”

VASER® Shape uses ultrasound energy and massage therapy techniques to disgorge the contents of fat cells and encourage blood circulation. The contents of the fat cells are absorbed by the lymphatic system and then metabolized by the liver.

“We can look under a microscope and see a fat cell go from a grape to a raisin,” explains Dr. Vanek, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. “A VASER® Shape treatment does not raise triglycerides, nor does it raise your cholesterol level in your blood stream, so it’s also safe. And we see long-term results. If a patient maintains their weight after their treatment, the area that was treated will stay small.

Request a consultation online or call 440-205-5750 to schedule your body contouring treatment at our Cleveland area practice. During your consultation, Dr. Vanek will assess your individual anatomy, and discuss your aesthetic goals and your possible outcome in terms of your own structures. He will help you understand the risks and benefits of any procedure and empower you to make an informed, medically sound decision.

What to Expect from a VASER® Shape Procedure

“VASER® Shape is another treatment option for patients who come see me,” says Dr. Vanek. “I help evaluate your options, and the probable outcomes those options produce. It’s the point in the consultation where we have to discuss our mutual perfectionism, then pick a treatment path that’s right for you.” For the patient who does not want to have surgery or undergo anesthesia, but has the time to take a gradual approach to body contouring, Dr. Vanek says they are “going to have a win on their hands.”

“We package treatment as sessions per region. If you take a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, that’s about the size of a region. So you have your lower abdomen and upper abdomen as separate regions, then the flanks, back, buttocks, arms, knees, calves and inner and outer thighs,” explains Dr. Vanek. Treatments are generally spaced one week apart. “Come in once a week for six weeks and we’ll get your contour ‘un-enhanced.’ You just come in for an hour and off you go. People love it.” Once you decide to pursue VASER® Shape treatments, you’ll be asked to hydrate the day before and the day of the procedure, and begin a low-carbohydrate diet 12 hours before the treatment. A low-carb diet shifts the body into a fat-burn mode and helps the body prepare to metabolize the disgorged contents of the fat cells. While the treatment is safe and effective for everyone, from young adults on up, it is not an effective treatment for a man’s beer belly.

“Men have just a one-inch layer of subcutaneous fat, the rest is inter-abdominal fat that will only shrink when he loses weight. The beer belly is impenetrable, the only solution is to lose weight through proper dieting and exercise,” says Dr. Vanek.

Skill and Experience Counts

“It’s a highly individualized procedure,” explains Dr. Vanek, who has practiced aesthetic medicine in Ohio since 1996. “We have to make an assessment of the patient’s fat layers because we selectively adjust the modes of treatment – the mode of the ultrasound determines the treatment depth. Each mode has to be tailored to each person’s individual body type. A person with a lot of stretch marks and loose skin requires a specific setting. It is a technical device, and it does take expertise to use it. I have trained my nurse and massage therapist to perform the treatments.”

As a bio-chemist and researcher for FDA and NIH studies, Dr. Vanek is often on the cutting edge of technology and an industry leader in implementation. “I was among a trio of clinical investigators invited to Italy to analyze the device. We have subsequently enrolled our patients in an outcome study to analyze the data to formulate and define dosing schedules – this mode for this particular amount of time, this mode at that temperature,” says Dr. Vanek, a recipient of University of Michigan’s Plastic Surgery Clinical Investigator of the Year award.

“No one can guarantee a great result, but if it’s an outcome that is possible, I am going to strive to achieve that outcome,” Dr. Vanek says. “Give us a call. I’d love to talk with you about Vaser Shape cost and help you celebrate your beauty.”