Lift Off

by Dr. Steven Wallach

“Smartlifting” is the latest attempt to put a prettier face on the face-lift. Trademarked by Cleveland-based plastic surgeon Richard D. Gentile, MD the procedure repurposes the Nd:YAG, a long, narrow laser designed to melt fat in laser-assisted lipo. After incisions, Gentile inserts the device under the skin to help separate it from underlying tissues and seal off blood vessels. The result, he says, is a 50 percent faster operation with increased sculpting and an added laser tightening effect. But New York City plastic surgeon, Steven Wallach , MD who read the study Gentile prepared for Cynosure, Nd:YAG’s manufacturer (independent trials have not yet begun), is skeptical. “If the device does what it would in lipo – melt fat- it’s counterintuitive,” Wallach says. “facial surgery today is about restoring youthful fullness.”