Melt Away Fat?

Posted Tuesday, September 11, 2007 to PROCEDURES > Body

Posted by The Original Anti-Aging & Cosmetic Surgery Magazine

Sherman Oaks plastic and reconstructive surgeon Peter Grossman MD talks about his study into External Ultrasound Assisted (EUA) reduction of fat cells. Holly O'Neill reports.

Sometimes called "external liposuction", the correct name for a new method to remove fat cells is lipolysis. It is a process of destroying fat cells by ultrasound, so they are ultimately reabsorbed by the body. Plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr Peter Grossman has been conducting a study of lipolysis. "We've done about 20 patients so far," he says. "We have varied the body parts in our study to include the chin and neck region, the flanks (love handles), abdomen and also the outer thighs. Overall we have had a positive experience with it." Dr Grossman reports it has shown moderate improvement with just one treatment in all but two of the patients.

Tumescent fluid is injected into the areas to be treated. "When we inject the fluid we create a medium in which the soundwaves of the ultrasound travel a little more efficiently," says Dr Grossman. "In addition to the normal tumescent solution, we add a solution that I calilipolidic. In that solution there is a small amount of potassium and a small amount of epsom and alcohol and those are used to help rupture the fat cells during the lipolysis by an osmotic process."

A combination of the injected fluid plus the external ultrasound causes the fat cells to rupture. "Once a fat cell membrane is ruptured, the cell is no longer viable." The body then recognizes the cells are no longer viable and sends cells known as macroyte SPELLING TO BE CHECKED. These arrive at the site of the treated area and slowly remove the non-viable cells from the body. "This is what happens in any inflammatory process," says Dr Grossman. "Macrocytes help remove debris. The process takes 3-4 weeks and over that period of time you start to see improvement in the area."

Results are smooth contoured skin. "As opposed to a standard liposuction where tissue is removed, with this lipolysis technique there is never empty space as the fat is slowly reabsorbed by the body. The skin retracts smoothly, leaving no redundant skin and a good result," says Dr Grossman. The patient experiences only minimal discomfort. The area being treated is injected with a local anesthetic before the tumescent fluid infiltration. There are minimal risks with this procedure. Possible risks include thermal burns from the heat-generating ultrasound panels, hematoma (bruising) and some swelling to the area from the injections. "Other than light bruising and the potential of burning there are minimal risks," says Dr Grossman.

Dr Grossman recommends lipolysis not as a replacement for liposuction, as large amounts of fat cannot be removed, but as suitable for patients with smaller pockets of fat. Lipolysis could be beneficial in recontouring the body with very little "down-time".

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