Non-Invasive Body Contouring

If you’re bothered by stubborn fat on your thighs, stomach, flanks, or arms, but do not want liposuction because of downtime or recovery, they could be for you. There are many different options; read on to explore them!

Technologies like Liposonix, iLipo, and Vanquish use ultrasound, radiofrequency, and laser energy to heat a layer of fat below the skin without excessively heating the skin itself. The treatment aims to heat the fat cells to 42°C until they undergo a natural process called “apoptosis,” in which they shrivel up and die. Following this process, the fatty acid contents of the cells are absorbed by the lymphatic drainage system, processed in the liver, and finally excreted by the gastrointestinal tract.

Fat reduction from these technologies ranges from 10% to 20% per treatment. Returning to light activities the same day is possible, but swelling, soreness, and bruising can occur. In addition, because heat is used, some degree of skin tightening can happen, but it is hard to measure.

A disadvantage to these heat-based treatments is that they tend to be more uncomfortable and sometimes painful. Some circumstances may require a narcotic or sedative, which would prevent the patient from driving themselves home. Another thing to remember is that not all patients respond to these treatments the same way. There are good responders, average responders, and non-responders. A few of the remaining technical challenges for these devices that affect outcomes include:

• Their ability to keep fat evenly heated at 42°C for long enough
• Keeping the fat heated without burning the skin or causing excessive pain
• The modest pace at which these treatments have their effect

Liposuction is easily going to provide the most drastic results. But if you are a busy person with modest expectations, CoolSculpting would be a great way to reduce fat. Keep in mind, however, that a few sessions may be necessary for the results to be noticeable, and final results can take up to three months to see. Other non-surgical body contouring devices, such as Liposonix, iLipo, and Vanquish, also require multiple treatments and a long wait before a noticeable result appears. The benefit of the non-surgical approach is that there’s no surgery involved, meaning there are no scars and no downtime, but you will have some swelling and soreness after each treatment.

If your provider is honest with you, they should tell you that not all patients respond to these treatments. In these situations, a procedure like liposuction would be the best option. It is impossible to know whether a patient will be a non-responder, so it is important to remember that more money may be spent on liposuction after finding that the non-surgical treatment did not work.

Compared to the non-surgical approach, an area can be treated with liposuction to reduce the fat by 55%-80% on average in just one step. The procedure can be done under local anesthesia, depending on how much is removed. In this case, you can return to regular home activities in days, light exercise in two weeks, and full contact sports in 4-6 weeks. If you do the math, you will find that liposuction is a much better value than the non-invasive treatments when you stack up costs, steps, and results. For some people, the cons of non-surgical treatments are okay as long as they don’t have to get surgery. For others, results and cost are more important than the fact that they have to undergo surgery.

Fat cells destroyed during treatment do not return; however, maintaining results depends on a stable weight and healthy lifestyle, since remaining fat cells can enlarge with weight gain.