Liposuction without a Scalpel

Itsy bitsy red bikini (Credit: wonderferret)

Men seek ‘lunchtime lipo’ for jowling under their chin. Women want lipo for their face, neck, arms, thighs and knees. Smartlipo is the new favourite with people these days as this procedure is carried out without scalpels and the downtime is minimal.

Smartlipo uses energy to destroy fat. Lipolysis, or ‘flab jabs’ uses chemicals. Both are being touted as next-generation anti-fat treatments that promise "smoother, sleeker silhouettes" without scalpels and little to no downtime - a kind of instant cosmetic surgery for the drive-thru generation.

But with the procedures poised for growth, concerns are growing too about who is administering them, in what setting and whether risks are being downplayed.

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery says the anti-fat injections (brand names Lipodissolve and Lipostabil) are "scientifically unproven" and lack objective safety data. The 2,400-member organization says "numerous reports" exist in the medical literature of complications such as infections, "disfiguring masses of chronically inflamed tissue" and tissue death.

Proponents counter that several thousand treatments have been reported in peer-reviewed journals showing improvements in about 90 per cent of patients, with few serious side effects.

Lipodissolve can be used to remove persistent pockets of fat, from double chins to love handles. It involves a series of 10 to 20 or more injections of a concoction containing phosphotidylcholine, derived from soybeans, into superficial body fat. The fat cells break down into two components, Shah says, triglycerides and glycerol.