BOULDER – Doctors who perform cosmetic surgery in the Boulder Valley use a variety of modern devices, including some made by a local liposuction/body shape device manufacturer.

Liposuction is one of he most popular cosmetic surgery procedures done in the region and across the country, according to area doctors and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Nationally, doctors performed 209,000 liposuction procedures in 2010. Breast enhancement is the most popular surgery locally and nationally, with 296,000 procedures done in 2010. Varicose vein removal and face-lift procedures also are popular locally.

When it comes to liposuction, female patients of Dr. Claude Burrow of Boulder most commonly want fat removed from their abdomens and “saddlebag” thighs, the doctor said. Men want their “love handles” removed, said Burrow, who is board certified by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Burrow’s Cosmetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery practice is at 2800 Folsom St. in Boulder.

Burrow performs liposuction procedures at Boulder Community Hospital with a VASER Lipo System liposuction machine made by Sound Surgical Technologies LLC in Louisville. The companies newest liposuction device – the Power X Lipo System – recently was cleared for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The VASER devices have ultrasonic technology that lessens bruising during surgery and less damage to a patient’s nerve and vascular structures, which speeds recovery after surgery, Burrow said.

“Liposuction is a contouring procedure, not a weight-loss procedure,” Burrow said. “You can excercise until the cows come home, and, until you’re starving to death, it’s not going to go away. You have to maintain a healthy lifestyle to preserve the results you’ve gotten from the liposuction.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 22 issued an updated white paper on the safety of silicone gel-filled breast implants. Echoing the Society’s longstanding stance, the FDA statement reports that “silicone gel-filled breast implants have a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness when used as labeled.” ASPS also accepts the Agency’s position that women who receive silicone gel-filled breast implants for reconstructive or cosmetic purposes will need to monitor the devices over their lifetime.

ASPS believes that the FDA white paper is informative and will be a fruitful resource for plastic surgeons – as well as for patients considering reconstructive or cosmetic breast augmentation. The Society also shares the FDA’s view in the white paper that more than 90 percent of patients are satisfied with their outcomes from breast implantation and report and improved quality of life.

ASPS has collaborated – and will continue to collaborate – with the FDA to ensure that science forms the basis for all decision-making on breast implants, as well as all other medical devices. The Society supports post-market breast implant surveillance and ongoing data collection related to the safety and efficacy of breast implants – and will continue to reiterate that patient safety is its number one priority.

On its website at fda.gov, the FDA has also provided links to related documents, including a 2011 Update on the Safety of Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants – Executive Summary, a general overview of breast implants, and a Consumer Update that contains current and background information on breast implants – as well as links to additional documents and FAQs.

Additional resources for members and consumers are posted on the ASPS website at plasticsurgery.org