Vaser vs Traditional Liposuction: Bruising, Skin Tightening and Which Areas Each Suits

The consultation is over, and she is standing at the bus stop scrolling through two quotes she was handed. One says ultrasound. One does not. The surgeon spent twenty minutes on her flanks and her medical history and about ninety seconds on the machine, yet the machine is the part everyone online seems to argue about.

That gap is worth closing. The vaser vs traditional liposuction debate is mostly a debate about a tool, and tools matter less than the hands holding them, the amount of fat removed, and whether liposuction is the right operation in the first place. The tool still matters a little, in specific places and for specific problems.

What follows is the version of that conversation a careful surgeon would give you if the clinic were empty and the phone was not ringing: what each technique does to your tissue, what the evidence supports on bruising and skin, where each tends to earn its place, and what neither can do.

Vaser vs traditional liposuction: what the two names actually mean

Liposuction is surgery that removes fat from under the skin through a thin hollow tube called a cannula, attached to suction. Everything else is variation on that theme.

What people call traditional liposuction is suction-assisted liposuction, almost always done with the tumescent technique. Tumescent means swollen: before any fat is removed, the surgeon infuses the area with a large volume of dilute saline containing a local anesthetic and adrenaline. The fluid numbs the tissue, shrinks small blood vessels so there is less bleeding, and firms the fat so the cannula can pass through it more evenly. The surgeon then moves the cannula back and forth by hand, breaking fat free mechanically.

Vaser is a trademarked name for one widely used third-generation ultrasound-assisted liposuction system. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction, or UAL, adds a step: a probe that vibrates at ultrasonic frequency is passed through the tumesced fat first. The vibration loosens fat cells from the connective tissue and vessels around them, turning the fat into a looser emulsion that is then suctioned out with a smaller cannula. Mayo Clinic describes UAL as a method that ruptures fat-cell walls to make removal easier and notes it is often used alongside traditional liposuction rather than instead of it.

Two other variants deserve a sentence each, because they get folded into this argument. Power-assisted liposuction uses a cannula that vibrates mechanically, saving the surgeon’s arm. Laser-assisted liposuction uses laser energy to liquefy fat and heat the dermis. Neither is the subject here, but the same honest caveat applies to all of them: the evidence base belongs to the class of technique, not to any brand, and this article treats it that way.

How liposuction works, step by step, with and without ultrasound

The two operations look identical for the first half hour. You stand while the surgeon draws on you, because fat pads shift when you lie down. You are given anesthesia, which may be local with sedation for a small area or general anesthesia for several areas or larger volumes; that choice is medical, not stylistic, and sits with the anesthesia team.

Small incisions, usually a few millimeters, are made in creases or places a swimsuit covers. Tumescent fluid goes in through a blunt cannula, and then there is a pause while the adrenaline constricts the vessels and the tissue firms up. Rushing this step is one of the quieter causes of heavy bruising in either technique.

From here the paths split. In traditional liposuction the surgeon introduces the suction cannula and works it through the fat in a fan pattern, layer by layer, feeling the thickness with the other hand. The energy that frees the fat comes from the surgeon’s arm.

In the ultrasound-assisted version the surgeon first passes the ultrasound probe through the same tunnels for a period judged by the density of the area. The probe is kept moving; a probe held still in one spot concentrates heat, which is why thermal injury is the specific risk of this class. Once the fat is loosened, a suction cannula removes it, often a thinner one than would be practical in dense tissue with suction alone.

Both end the same way. Incisions are closed or left partly open so tumescent fluid can drain, absorbent dressings and a compression garment go on, and you are watched until you are steady. Mayo Clinic notes that people who have larger amounts removed may stay overnight for monitoring; many others go home the same day.

Does Vaser really cause less bruising than traditional liposuction?

Bruising is blood that has leaked from small vessels and pooled under the skin. Any technique that tears fewer vessels should, in principle, bruise less. That is the whole argument for ultrasound, and it is a reasonable one.

When a cannula drags fat free mechanically, it also tears the fine vessels and connective strands running through it; the adrenaline in tumescent fluid limits the bleeding but does not prevent the tearing. Ultrasound energy preferentially disrupts fat cells, which are large and fragile, while the denser collagen and vessel walls are more resistant. Surgeons who use the technique commonly report that the aspirate looks paler and the patient looks less bruised in the first week. Mayo Clinic’s summary is appropriately cautious: the newer generation of ultrasound devices may improve skin contouring and reduce the chance of skin injury.

May is the operative word. Comparative studies are small, mostly observational, and use different volumes, areas and outcome measures, so no guideline states that one technique bruises less across the board. In practice, bruising varies far more with factors that have nothing to do with the machine: how much fat is removed, how superficial the surgeon works, whether the inner thighs or arms are treated (both bruise readily), whether you took aspirin, anti-inflammatory painkillers, fish oil or certain herbal supplements in the weeks before, and your own tendency to bruise.

Timing is similar for both. MedlinePlus notes swelling and bruising for at least the first two weeks, and Mayo Clinic says swelling can take several months to fully settle. If bruising is the reason you are leaning toward one technique, it is a weak reason. The reasons that follow are stronger.

Skin tightening: what ultrasound-assisted liposuction can and cannot do

Skin retraction means the skin shrinking back to fit the smaller volume underneath. Liposuction removes volume; it does not remove skin. Whether the surface then looks smooth or loose depends on the skin’s own elasticity, which is set by age, genetics, sun exposure, pregnancies, smoking and how many times the skin has been stretched and relaxed by weight change.

The tightening claim for ultrasound rests on two mechanisms. The energy generates heat, and heated collagen contracts and may stimulate new collagen over the following months. The probe also creates a fine network of channels through the fat layer, which some surgeons believe encourages the skin to adhere more evenly as it heals. Both mechanisms are plausible. Both are modest in effect. Mayo Clinic frames it as a possible improvement in contouring, not as tightening, and states plainly that liposuction does not improve cellulite dimpling, surface irregularities or stretch marks.

The comparison that matters is not ultrasound versus traditional. It is liposuction versus excision. An abdominoplasty, sometimes called a tummy tuck, removes skin as well as fat and repairs the abdominal wall; an arm lift or thigh lift does the equivalent elsewhere. If a surgeon can pinch a loose fold of skin that hangs when you lean forward, no cannula-based technique will make that fold disappear, and choosing ultrasound to avoid the longer scar tends to trade a scar for a disappointment.

Where skin is already good, the extra retraction from ultrasound may add a little polish. Where skin is borderline, the honest answer from the evidence is that the effect is uncertain and should not be the deciding factor. Where skin is poor, the technique question is the wrong question.

Which areas suit Vaser and which suit traditional liposuction?

Fat is not the same everywhere. Abdominal fat is soft and yields to suction alone. Upper back fat, the male chest and any area that has had liposuction before are threaded with tough fibrous tissue that resists a cannula and tires the surgeon’s arm. Mayo Clinic specifically mentions ultrasound-assisted liposuction for dense, fibrous areas and for people who have had liposuction previously. That is where the class earns its keep.

Area	Tissue character	Where ultrasound is most often discussed	What decides it in practice
Abdomen and flanks	Soft to moderately fibrous	Optional; both techniques used widely	Skin quality and whether excision is needed
Upper back, bra line	Dense, fibrous	Frequently, for easier release	Surgeon experience with fibrous fat
Male chest (gynecomastia)	Fibrous, often glandular	Frequently; gland may still need excision	Whether tissue is fat, gland or both
Inner thighs, knees	Soft, thin skin, bruises easily	Less often; heat near thin skin needs care	Skin laxity and contour risk
Arms	Soft, skin often lax	Sometimes, for modest retraction	Whether an arm lift is the real answer
Neck and under the chin	Small volume, thin skin, nerves close	Sometimes; small probes exist	Skin elasticity; nerve safety
Revision of previous liposuction	Scarred, irregular	Often, to release scar-bound fat	Realistic goal of smoothing, not perfection

Notice what the right-hand column keeps saying. Skin quality, tissue type and surgeon experience decide the outcome; the machine is a supporting character. Surgeons who use both often reserve ultrasound for the fibrous rows above and reach for traditional cannulas where the fat is soft and the skin is thin.

Who is usually a candidate for either technique, and who is asked to wait

Candidacy does not change with the technique. Mayo Clinic describes good candidates as adults at a stable weight, generally within about 30 percent of their ideal weight, with firm, elastic skin and good muscle tone, who do not smoke and who do not have health conditions that impair healing or raise the risk of bleeding, clotting or anesthesia complications. The target is a localized pocket of fat that has not responded to diet and exercise, not overall weight.

The people most often asked to wait fall into a few groups. Anyone planning significant weight loss, because fat removed now from one area will be joined by loss elsewhere and the proportions will shift. Anyone planning a pregnancy in the near future, for the same reason and because abdominal skin and muscle change again. Smokers, who are usually asked to stop for a period before and after because nicotine narrows blood vessels and slows healing. People with poorly controlled diabetes, active infection, a history of blood clots, or heart or lung disease that makes anesthesia and fluid shifts riskier; these are assessed individually and sometimes optimized first.

There is a fourth group that deserves saying out loud. When a person’s distress about a small area is out of proportion to what others can see, or when several previous procedures have not brought relief, a thoughtful surgeon slows down. Body dysmorphic disorder, a condition of persistent preoccupation with a perceived flaw, is not treated by surgery and is often worsened by it. Raising the possibility is a form of care, not a dismissal.

Lipedema, a condition of painful, symmetrical fat accumulation in the legs, is sometimes managed with liposuction along a separate medical pathway with different goals and follow-up. If that is your situation, the vaser vs traditional liposuction framing borrowed from cosmetic marketing will not fit, and your team will explain the differences.

What are the downsides of Vaser liposuction? The vaser lipo downsides surgeons discuss

Heat is the defining downside. Ultrasound energy converts to warmth in the tissue, which is the intended mechanism, but concentrated warmth at the incision edge or at the tip of a probe held too long in one place can burn the skin from the inside. Newer systems deliver energy in pulses and use protective sleeves at the incision, which is why Mayo Clinic notes a reduced chance of skin injury compared with earlier ultrasound devices; reduced is not zero, and thin-skinned areas such as the inner thigh and neck need particular care.

Seroma is the second. A seroma is a pocket of clear fluid that collects in the space where fat used to be. Because ultrasound disrupts more tissue and leaves a looser, more emulsified space, earlier generations of the technique were associated with higher seroma rates than suction alone. Compression and, when needed, drainage in clinic manage most; some recur.

Then there are the practical trade-offs. The extra step lengthens the operation, and longer surgery means longer anesthesia and, in general, a longer time for fluid shifts and temperature loss to matter. The equipment has a learning curve; a surgeon who does two ultrasound cases a year is not offering you the same procedure as one who does two a week.

A subtler downside is temptation. Ultrasound makes it easier to remove fat superficially and to etch muscle outlines, an approach marketed as high-definition sculpting. Superficial work raises the risk of contour irregularities and firm scarring under the skin, called fibrosis, and etched lines can look odd if weight changes later. The technique did not cause that problem; it made it easier to reach.

None of this makes the approach wrong. It makes it a tool with a specific risk profile that should be weighed against a specific benefit, usually dense or previously treated tissue, rather than adopted by default.

What is the safest type of liposuction to get?

There is no guideline naming a safest machine, and any clinic that tells you otherwise is describing marketing rather than evidence. Safety in liposuction is a plan, and the plan has recognizable parts.

The first is how much is removed. The risks that frighten surgeons most, large fluid shifts that strain the kidneys and heart, fat embolism in which fat enters the bloodstream and lodges in the lungs, and toxicity from the local anesthetic in tumescent fluid, all scale with volume and with the number of areas treated in one session. Mayo Clinic lists each of these among liposuction’s serious complications. A modest procedure done with suction alone is safer than an aggressive multi-area procedure done with the most advanced device in the building.

The second is where and by whom. Accredited surgical facilities, a qualified anesthesia provider, monitoring during and after surgery, and a surgeon trained and credentialed in the procedure matter more than technology. The NHS advises checking a surgeon’s registration and specialty training before any cosmetic operation, and the same logic applies in the United States through board certification and hospital privileges.

The third is you. Stable weight, no smoking, a frank medical history including every supplement, and a realistic goal each lower risk in ways no device can. Combining liposuction with other operations on the same day, common in body contouring, adds time under anesthesia and is a decision for the surgical and anesthesia team together.

Framed this way, the answer to the question is straightforward. The safest liposuction is a conservative one, in a well-equipped setting, by an experienced team, on a well-prepared person. Whether an ultrasound probe is part of it is a detail that team should be able to justify to you in plain language.

Ultrasound assisted liposuction recovery: what the days and weeks usually look like

Recovery from the two techniques follows the same arc, because the body is healing the same kind of injury: tunnels through the fat layer, bruised tissue and a large volume of fluid that has to drain or be absorbed. Some surgeons report their ultrasound patients feel more comfortable sooner; the comparative evidence is too thin to promise it.

The first two or three days are wet and sore. Pink-tinged tumescent fluid leaks from the incisions, which is expected and is why absorbent pads go under the compression garment. The soreness is usually described as a deep, all-over ache, like the day after unfamiliar exercise. Walking around the house from the first day is encouraged, partly for comfort and partly because moving the legs is the simplest protection against blood clots.

Through the first two weeks bruising peaks and then fades from purple to yellow-green. Mayo Clinic notes that many people return to desk-based work within a few days; the NHS suggests planning one to two weeks off, which is the more realistic figure if several areas were treated or your job is physical. Numbness, tingling and patches of firm swelling are common and can last weeks.

Weeks two to six are the garment weeks. The NHS advises wearing compression for up to six weeks and avoiding strenuous exercise for around a month; Mayo Clinic describes several weeks of compression. The garment limits swelling and helps the skin settle evenly onto the new contour. Firm, lumpy areas soften slowly, and gentle massage is sometimes suggested by the team.

Months three to six are when the result actually appears. Both the NHS and Mayo Clinic put the final settling of swelling at up to six months. Judging the outcome, or the technique, before then is judging an unfinished picture.

Risks that apply to every liposuction technique, and the alternatives to weigh

The ultrasound-specific risks were covered above. The list below applies whichever cannula is used, and it is the list that should occupy most of the consent conversation.

• Contour irregularities: bumpy, wavy or asymmetric skin from uneven removal, poor skin elasticity or unusual healing. Mayo Clinic notes these can be permanent.
• Fluid accumulation (seroma) under the skin, sometimes needing drainage.
• Numbness or altered sensation, usually temporary, occasionally lasting.
• Infection at the incisions or in the treated tissue; rare but potentially serious.
• Internal puncture: a cannula passing too deep and injuring an organ, which needs emergency repair.
• Fat embolism: fat entering the bloodstream and lodging in the lungs or brain, a medical emergency.
• Kidney and heart problems from the large fluid volumes infused and removed.
• Local anesthetic toxicity from the lidocaine in tumescent fluid, which is why volumes are carefully calculated by the team.
• Blood clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) that can travel to the lungs (pulmonary embolism).
• Anesthesia complications, scarring, skin discoloration and, rarely, skin loss over the treated area.

Alternatives deserve equal airtime. Doing nothing is a legitimate choice. Weight management through diet and activity reduces fat everywhere, including stubborn pockets, though not selectively. Excisional surgery treats loose skin that liposuction cannot. Non-surgical fat reduction devices that cool, heat or use ultrasound from outside the skin exist; the evidence shows modest, variable reductions in fat-layer thickness rather than the volume change surgery produces, and they carry their own uncommon complications. Your surgeon should be able to explain why liposuction, in either form, is a better fit for you than each of these, and if the explanation is thin, that is useful information too.

Is Vaser lipo worth it? A way to think about value without the sales pitch

Worth is a comparison between what you want and what a procedure can deliver, and the vaser vs traditional liposuction question only makes sense once the first half is clear. Pricing is deliberately left out here; the decision framework is the same regardless.

Start with the problem, stated in one sentence you could say to a stranger. A firm bulge on the lower abdomen that survives every diet is one problem. Skin that folds over the waistband when you sit is a different problem. Uneven results from a previous operation is a third. Ultrasound plausibly adds something to the first when the tissue is dense and to the third almost always; it adds little to the second, because the second is a skin problem.

Then ask what the extra step is buying in your specific case. If your surgeon says the area is fibrous, or has been treated before, or is the male chest, the answer is easier release, a smoother pass and possibly a slightly kinder recovery. If your surgeon says the area is soft and the skin is good, the honest answer is that the extra step is optional, and a surgeon who says so is telling you something reassuring about how they practice.

Consider the downside risk. The heat-related complications of ultrasound are uncommon in experienced hands and rare with modern pulsed systems, but they are real and they are avoidable by not using the device where it is not needed. A tool that is genuinely worth it in one area may be unnecessary risk in another on the same person, on the same day.

And measure the technique against the thing that actually predicts regret in cosmetic surgery, which is a gap between expectation and result. No device closes that gap. Clear conversation, conservative goals and a six-month wait before judging do.

What people often get wrong about Vaser vs traditional liposuction

The first myth is that ultrasound tightens loose skin the way a lift does. It may add modest retraction to skin that already has good elasticity; it does not remove or lift skin. If a fold hangs, only excision removes it.

The second is that ultrasound liposuction is non-surgical, or a lunchtime treatment. It is surgery with incisions, anesthesia, tumescent fluid and the full complication list above. The word ultrasound borrows a gentle association from pregnancy scans that does not belong here.

The third is that traditional liposuction is outdated. Suction-assisted tumescent liposuction remains the most performed version worldwide and the reference against which every newer device is measured. Many surgeons who own ultrasound equipment still use plain cannulas for soft, thin-skinned areas by choice.

The fourth is that fat comes back somewhere else. Removed fat cells do not regenerate in adults in any meaningful way, but the fat cells that remain, everywhere in the body, enlarge with weight gain. Mayo Clinic notes that gaining weight after liposuction changes the result and can shift the appearance of fat distribution. Stable weight preserves the outcome; the machine has nothing to do with it.

The fifth concerns the regret rate. Search engines are full of satisfaction percentages, almost all of them from clinic websites or small self-selected surveys rather than from any guideline or systematic review, so no reliable regret figure is quoted here. What the clinical literature does support is a pattern: regret clusters around unrealistic expectations, poor candidate selection, weight change afterward, and judging the result before swelling has settled. Those are addressable before surgery, in conversation, at no risk.

The last is the quietest: that the machine is the decision. It is one line on a longer list, and rarely the top one.

Questions to ask your care team before choosing a technique

A good consultation is a two-way examination. The surgeon is assessing your tissue and health; you are assessing whether the plan is specific to you or lifted from a brochure. These questions tend to separate the two.

• Which technique are you recommending for each area, and what about my tissue or skin makes you choose it there rather than elsewhere?
• If you are suggesting ultrasound, what do you expect it to add for me specifically: easier release of fibrous fat, smoother contour, or skin retraction? How confident are you in each?
• Do you also perform traditional liposuction, and in which areas do you still prefer it?
• Looking at my skin, is liposuction alone likely to give a smooth result, or would excision give a better one, and why?
• Roughly how much do you plan to remove, across how many areas, and will this be done in one session or staged?
• Where will the procedure take place, who provides the anesthesia, and will I be monitored overnight?
• What are your own complication rates for seroma, burns, contour irregularity and revision, and how do you handle each if it happens?
• What should I stop taking before surgery, including supplements, and for how long? What is the plan for preventing blood clots?
• What does recovery look like for someone with my job and my responsibilities, and when will we assess the final result?
• What would make you advise me to wait, or not to have this operation at all?

Write the answers down. The value of this list is not the questions themselves but the pattern in the replies. Specific, tissue-based answers that occasionally include the word no suggest a surgeon thinking about you. Uniform enthusiasm for one device across every body part suggests a surgeon thinking about the device.

When to call your doctor after liposuction

Most of what you feel in the first fortnight is expected: aching, bruising, pink fluid leaking from incisions, numb patches and lumpy swelling under the garment. Your team will give you a direct number to call, and using it for anything that worries you is the right instinct rather than an inconvenience.

Some signs should not wait for office hours. Call emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department if you have chest pain, sudden shortness of breath, coughing up blood, fainting, confusion or new severe abdominal pain, because these can indicate a pulmonary embolism, fat embolism, internal injury or a serious drop in blood pressure.

Call your surgical team the same day, and do not simply watch and wait, for any of the following:

• Pain, swelling, warmth or tenderness in one calf or thigh, which can signal a deep vein thrombosis.
• A fever, chills or feeling generally unwell, especially with spreading redness, heat or thick, cloudy or foul-smelling drainage from an incision.
• Pain that is worsening after the first few days rather than easing, or pain out of proportion to what you were told to expect.
• Skin over a treated area that is turning dark, dusky, blistered or hard, or an incision edge that looks burned.
• A rapidly enlarging, tense or painful swelling on one side, which may be bleeding or a large seroma.
• Heavy or persistent bleeding that soaks dressings.
• Dizziness, a racing heart, very little urine, or nausea and vomiting that stop you drinking, which can reflect fluid shifts or infection.
• Numbness or weakness that is spreading rather than steady.

The NHS and Mayo Clinic both emphasize that complications caught early are far easier to manage. Your team knows what they did and what they expect; let them decide whether a symptom is routine.

Frequently asked questions

What are the downsides of Vaser liposuction?

The main downsides specific to ultrasound-assisted liposuction are heat-related skin injury, fluid collections called seromas, a longer operation and a steeper learning curve for the surgeon. It also makes very superficial fat removal easier, which raises the risk of contour irregularities and firm scarring if used aggressively. All the general risks of liposuction, including clots, infection and fluid shifts, apply just the same.

What is the safest type of liposuction to get?

No technique has been shown to be the safest; safety comes from the plan rather than the machine. Conservative volumes, a limited number of areas per session, an accredited facility with qualified anesthesia, a properly credentialed and experienced surgeon, and a well-prepared, non-smoking patient at a stable weight each reduce risk more than the choice between ultrasound and traditional suction.

Is Vaser lipo worth it compared with traditional liposuction?

It depends on the tissue and the problem, not on the technology in general. Ultrasound plausibly adds value for fibrous areas, the male chest and revisions of earlier liposuction. For soft fat under good skin it is optional, and for loose skin it solves the wrong problem. Ask your surgeon what the extra step buys in your specific area and what risk it adds.

What is the regret rate for liposuction?

No reliable regret rate exists in guidelines or systematic reviews; the percentages online come mostly from clinic surveys and marketing. What the clinical literature consistently shows is that dissatisfaction clusters around unrealistic expectations, poor candidate selection, weight gain afterward and judging results before swelling settles at around six months. Each of those is addressable before surgery.

Does Vaser really cause less bruising than traditional lipo?

Possibly, but the evidence is limited to small studies and surgeon reports rather than large trials. Ultrasound loosens fat while sparing more of the small vessels a cannula would tear, so less bruising is plausible. In practice bruising depends more on volume removed, the area treated, how superficially the surgeon works and medications or supplements taken beforehand.

Can Vaser liposuction tighten loose skin?

Only modestly, and only when the skin already has reasonable elasticity. Heat from the ultrasound may cause some collagen contraction, but liposuction removes fat, not skin. Mayo Clinic notes liposuction does not treat cellulite, surface irregularities or stretch marks. If skin folds or hangs, excisional procedures such as abdominoplasty are the relevant option to discuss with your team.

How long is ultrasound assisted liposuction recovery?

The timeline mirrors traditional liposuction. Expect fluid drainage and soreness for a few days, bruising for around two weeks, a compression garment for up to six weeks and several weeks away from strenuous exercise, according to the NHS and Mayo Clinic. Final contour appears as swelling settles over three to six months. Some surgeons report faster comfort with ultrasound, but this is not consistently proven.

Which is better for the neck and chin, Vaser or traditional liposuction?

Neither is established as better. The neck involves small volumes, thin skin and nearby nerves, so precision and conservative removal matter more than the device. Small ultrasound probes exist and some surgeons value the modest retraction; others avoid heat near thin skin. Skin elasticity decides the outcome, and if the neck skin is lax, a neck lift may be the more relevant discussion.

Can ultrasound and traditional liposuction be combined in one operation?

Yes, and this is common. Mayo Clinic describes ultrasound-assisted liposuction as often used together with traditional liposuction: the probe loosens dense or previously treated fat first, and a suction cannula removes it. Many surgeons use ultrasound only in fibrous areas and plain cannulas elsewhere on the same person, matching the tool to the tissue.

Will the fat come back after liposuction?

Removed fat cells do not grow back in adults in any meaningful way, but the remaining fat cells throughout the body enlarge with weight gain, so the result depends on keeping weight stable. Mayo Clinic notes that gaining weight after liposuction changes the outcome and can make fat distribution look different. The technique used has no bearing on this.

References

• NHS: Liposuction
• MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Liposuction

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.