Non Surgical Liposculpture

Most women carry a bit of unwanted fat somewhere - on thighs, butt, waist or tummy. The ultimate solution is liposuction - but it's not only expensive, it's major surgery, with all the associated risks (and weeks off work). Every now and then we hear scary stories of liposuction gone wrong, resulting in ugly scars, deformities and even death.

Unfortunately, until recently there was no other way to "spot reduce" (reduce fat on specific parts of the body). But in the last few months, I've seen ads in my local papers for "non surgical inch reduction" or "non surgical liposculpture".

Finally, it seems there really are some less drastic alternatives out there.

Not to be confused with ultrasonic liposuction (which uses ultrasound to break down fat cells, then  liposuction to suck them out), this ultrasound treatment is the least invasive of all the scientifically validated procedures.

Basically, it uses the power of focussed ultrasound waves to break down fat cells.

It's a walk-in walk-out procedure with virtually no risks and no downtime, so it sounded very attractive to me. Unfortunately, the sound waves don't penetrate very deeply, so you can't expect dramatic results - but I'd be happy losing a couple of inches!

I might've known there would be a catch.

When used in ultrasonic liposuction, the disrupted fat is sucked out with a canula. So when you have ultrasound treatment on its own, where does the fat go?

Read the promotional literature and it all says things like "the fat is processed over the next few days via the body's natural mechanisms". Natural has to be good,right?

But wait - what does my body naturally do with fat? Well, in my case, it deposits it straight on my thighs. So is there a risk I could go through the treatment, only to have the fat circulate through my liver and straight back on to my butt again?

The answer would appear to be yes. The body regards the fat released by the procedure exactly the same as the fat you eat - so if the total is more than you need for nutrition, it will be deposited back on the body. So I assume this means you have to starve yourself for several days after the procedure, to make sure you burn the fat off.

I'd love an expert to pop in and explain to me why that won't happen - but until they do, I'll be giving this treatment a miss!

This treatment removes fat by injecting chemicals into the area to dissolve fat. It works, but it's not without risk - and note, the chemicals used are not FDA approved.

I enquired about this procedure at the beauty salon where I have my Omnilux treatments, and they referred me to the doctor who does the procedures for them. She was more honest than some of the promotional material!

She said Lipodissolve would definitely fix my double chin, but it would require a major investment to make a difference to my stomach. She also warned me I'd need to take time off work because my face would be visibly bruised, and that although the treatment itself doesn't hurt, I would be in pain for several days afterwards, while the fat dissolved away.

I suppose you would call Smart Lipo "non-surgical" - however, all the providers emphasise that it's still a serious medical procedure which should only be done by a qualified surgeon, and shouldn't be taken lightly. The probe is actually a laser, which burns away the fat.

It does have a lot of benefits over traditional liposuction -

• it's done under local anaesthetic - much less risky than a general.
  
• the incision is only a small puncture.
• you only have to wear a compression garment for 2 weeks (4-6 weeks for traditional lipo)
• there's less pain, swelling and bruising afterwards, so only one or two days' downtime required.
  
• the laser helps tighten the skin, reducing the likelihood of baggy skin after fat removal.
  
• it can treat areas traditional lipo can't, such as bingo wings (upper arms) and inner thighs.
  

Smart Lipo is best for small, stubborn pockets of fat - for large areas, you may need more than one treatment. It takes about two months to see the final result.

There are other procedures such as Endermologie and Acoustic Wave Therapy, but they're more targeted at cellulite reduction than fat reduction.

Overall, the only therapy that really seems worth the investment is Smart Lipo, and that's still a major medical procedure and expensive. Looks like I'm going to have my thunder thighs a bit longer...

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All text copyright Marisa Wright.