Removal or decreasing fat from problem areas is on every one’s list of wants. Fortunately… in this case the line between results and disappointment is clear. Liposuction is still the gold standard for fat removal and body contouring and now with less and minimally invasive techniques like Ultrasound, Laser Liposuction, Smart Lipo, etc , the downtime and recovery time is greatly reduced. The procedure can be done in the office under local anesthesia( tumescent anesthesia) in healthy individuals removing anywhere between 1500 to 2000 cc of fat leading to real measurable results in inches and pictures.
When it comes down to the non invasive technologies results are greatly diminished. Manufacturer’s claims must me tempered with actual reproducible and measurable results. In our office we are in the unique position of being able to try out “all the new technologies” so that we offer our patients what’s cutting edge. However, our main premise is: What really delivers? Would we want to spend our hard earned money on this if we were paying for it?
Zerona claims 3-9 inches reduction in two weeks?
There have been waves of patients who are not seeing much improvement. There is no data on how long the effects last. The company tells you that it is dependent upon the individual patients diet and exercise habits, and that the “inches lost” may return in a few months requiring more treatments. Your results may vary depending on your diet over those two weeks. Perhaps the dieting alone contributed to the inches lost?
For free it might be worth giving it a shot, for $ $2000- $3000 is a different story. We tried Zerona in our office and, in fact, did see an average of 3-5 inches of reduction. The problem is when you take those measurements over 3-4 different areas your looking about an inch of reduction over that individual area. We simply couldn’t justify taking over $2000 without delivering results.
Zeltiq freezes the fat cells “cryolipolysis” causing the fat cells to die. The generalized consensus among doctors is that it is best for small localized bulges. The problem is it requires multiple, expensive sessions and at best gives a 20 – 25 % reduction in fat over these localized small bulges.
It appears the line is clear and there is no “silver bullet” that magically removes the fat without undergoing Liposuction for now.
Sweet article, great page template, carry on the good work
Glad you liked it. I try to seperate the forest from the trees in the “jungle of aesthetic medicine”
Glad you enjoyed it!.. Dr Macri
I agree wholeheartedly, if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is. If you give patients a massage and put on nutritional restrictions and increase their exercise level, they magically become leaner. What do you know? We do Smartlipo and have never had a temporary result. To melt fat you need a certain internal temperature that is unattattainable transcutaneously in a safe manner. Once the fat is sucked out, it is permanent and it truly tightens skin. We respect the the hard earned money our patients spend and therefore feel we owe them results, without the gimmics.
Dr Janiszewski. Glad you enjoyed the blog. There is no silver bullet (yet)when it comes to fat reduction. To give patients consistent ,measurable results liposuction is the ticket over these non invasive technologies. Patients want to look in the mirror and say afterward “wow what a difference”. The fact that you get wound contracture …skin and subcutaneous tissue tightening is the added benefit!
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