Fat Melting Procedures

What is Fat Melting?

Fat melting is the non-invasive fat elimination treatment of choice for people who have failed to eliminate stubborn areas of body fat, despite strict dieting and training in gyms for hours and even for people who have not achieved their desired results from surgical procedures. Genetics does play a role where different people retain their unwelcome “fat pockets” and often they may find that their parents and grandparents also retained these “fat pockets” in the same areas.

After all, who doesn’t want all their fat removed without surgery or dieting!

Who wants these procedures?

It is a fact that most people have some insecurity regarding their bodies. For some it is their love handles and for others it may be the shape of their buttocks. Fat deposits in any body zone can significantly spoil a figure, and for aesthetically conscious people – it is a nightmare.

With the advent of a new generation of non-invasive body contouring and fat melting equipment, we can effortlessly get rid of these stubborn fat bulges. The question is, are they effective? Absolutely!

The ASAPS (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery) data on emerging aesthetics trends clearly reflects the recent hype of non-invasive fat melting and body sculpting. Some important items to take note of are:

•      Non-surgical skin tightening has jumped from 9th to 7th most popular nonsurgical procedure showing a 58% increase between 2014 and 2015.

•      Non-surgical skin tightening has secured the top 5th spot for most popular procedures among men, replacing microdermabrasion in the top 5.

•      Non-surgical fat reduction stats show an increase of 18.7% over last year.

So, what really is “non-invasive fat reduction”? 

Non-invasive fat reduction, as its name signifies, melts away your body fat without making an incision in your skin. For people experiencing a dreaded plateau in their battle with weight loss or aggressive exercise plans, these procedures can act as a life turner. Here is a birds-eye view of the extensive list of benefits which non-surgical body-sculpting (fat reduction) technologies offer:

•      They are minimally invasive (no incisions or aesthetic needed)

•      They offer a short procedure time, with minimal downtime

•      They provide you the best aesthetic results compared with the side effects and recovery period

•      The results are permanent (if one adopts healthy life style after the procedure)

•      They are literally pain free compared to surgical procedures like liposuction

•      There are minimal side effects

•      They are FDA approved.

Through these procedures, one can accomplish similar results without the risks of surgery. One can avoid:

•      Anesthesia and its complications

•      Risk of fat embolism

•      Bleeding problems

•      Extended post op recovery phase

•      Post op infection risk

•      Extensive post op medications

•      In addition, some fat burning procedures also provide a certain degree of skin tightening, to protect from the aftereffects of lipolysis (i.e. saggy body areas).

Remember these procedures are not an alternative for a healthy lifestyle, it just gives one the push to jumpstart the motivation to maintain healthy habits. These procedures are not for anyone who wants to lose weight, in fact these procedures rarely result in any weight loss. If weight loss is their goal, they should first participate in a physician-directed medically supervised weight loss program, which we offer at aNu with Dr. Watkins.

As well, none of these devices rival the results of surgical intervention. It is important to understand what this equipment can and cannot do. For most people, they will have better results with a tummy tuck / liposuction combination then with any of these devices. However, most patients also don’t want the downtime, surgical scars, and having to wait months to see their final results which are associated with these surgeries. Non-invasive fat elimination procedures are really meant for patients who don’t want to go under the knife, and are happy with a one-inch reduction of the circumference of their abdomen. Often patients just want their clothes to fit better, and dropping a size or two is all they want. Many are of a healthy weight, and no amount of exercise is ridding them of their problem area.

What options are available?

Wide ranges of non-surgical, non-invasive equipment options are now available for body contouring and are highlighted on episodes of Dr. Oz, The Doctors, The View or another talk show.

At aNu, we offer CoolSculpting which you can read about here.

Invasix BodyFX™:

The BodyFX™ (formerly known as TiteFX) body contouring procedure provides improved circumferential reduction through a combination of vacuum and RF energy.

FDA Approval: “reduce the appearance of cellulite” 

The mechanism behind the technique:

BodyFX™ uses a vacuum applicator that draws the skin and fat into the applicator, where radiofrequency (RF) energy targets the fat. One of the selling points is that the fat is pre-heated, giving you better results. RF has been demonstrated to provide tightening results on the skin.

Where does all the fat go?

No anesthesia, no downtime, nominal pain, minimal side effects, and immediate recovery are the key features of these procedures. These non-invasive, non-surgical techniques are designed specially to target the adipose fat cells, without damaging the skin and subcutaneous tissue itself. The equipment, through various mechanisms, in effect disrupts the fat cells by inducing a non-inflammatory, apoptotic death of the fat cell (accelerated natural cell death) in the treated area. Gradually, in a matter of few weeks the damaged fat cells are removed by body’s lymphatic system leaving behind a smart, slim, contoured body area.

When will I see the results?

The body removes damaged fat cells gradually, but most patients begin to see visible results at about 6 weeks and optimal results at about 12 weeks. Once the fat is zapped, a patient cannot just go back to eating and drinking all that bad stuff! We take baseline measurements (weight and body measurements), and photos of every patient before and 9 to 12 weeks after the procedure.

The final word on Fat Melting procedures

In recent years, nonsurgical alternatives to liposuction have exploded onto the aesthetic market. Over the years, the results have also progressively gotten much better.

For the most part, these techniques are ideal for patients with good skin laxity and for those who can’t undergo invasive procedure or do not want to and want a 1 or 2-inch loss.

The results may vary individually and appear around 4-6 weeks after the procedure. It must be clear, that the remaining fat cells can expand to take the place of the dead ones. So if they want to keep the results, they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle post procedure.

Have a healthy 2017!