The Mysterious Ways Of Lipodissolve
It’s a new procedure that’s gaining popularity in the midwest, whereupon some kind of “anti-fat” chemical is injected into your fat, making it… magically disappear. Since I will pass out due to my injection-phobia if I think about this too much, I will merely quote some highlights from this article.
Doctors said anti-fat shots often contain a compound of approved drug ingredients known as PCDC, which includes a phospholipid called phosphatidylcholine and a bile acid called deoxycholate. A drug containing PCDC called Lipostabil is approved in Germany as an intravenous medication to treat blood vessels blocked by fat embolisms. In Britain, where the drug is not licensed, it has been marketed for cosmetic anti-fat injections under the name Flabjab…
[T]he Food and Drug Administration has not approved any drug to be used cosmetically in anti-fat injections. Neither the drug formula used in lipodissolve nor the method of treatment is standardized. And researchers disagree whether the shots eliminate fat cells, or merely liquefy fat so that it shifts around in the body, raising the possibility of long-term consequences such as the aggravation of heart disease…
Treatments typically cost $2,000 per body part and require a series of six injection sessions, spaced two weeks apart. Women most frequently request treatment on their abdomens and thighs while men choose love handles and jaw lines. A typical client signs up for two or three body parts.
I can’t imagine getting a voluntary injection in the first place, never mind some untested and potentially unsafe drug cocktail that might make my fat slosh around in my body. I mean, how does this stuff work, anyway? The fact that nobody seems to know is a little disturbing.
Thanks to Laurie and Kari for the tip!
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Health, Science, Weight Loss
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…ewwwwww…
You know, I remember reading a sci-fi story when I was very young that involved a very similar procedure. You just lost weight through a series of injections that left a colored dot where one was injected. It became so commonplace that these injections and dots were considered a fashion statement. While, yes, that solidifies my geekism, its very creepy considering it coming into our present every day life.
I would like to think that this procedure would be a last resort as in the person was initially doing the eating right/ excercise thing but turned to this to get rid of the stubborn fat that doesn’t respond it. Even so, GROSS!
Sounds weird to me.
Chesney: I think I remember that story. Did the other part of it have something to do with ice cream?
Anyway, drug companies and the media have people so afraid of being fat now that people don’t even care what it does, how much it costs (they could easily charge triple and no one would say boo), or if it’s even dangrous (Alli, anyone?). People would rather almost die than be fat.
You all should really read up more about the procedure and not make such quick judgement until you have all the facts!! I have had it done, I have had excellent results and I highly recommend it! Lipo-dissolve is a non-evasive way of getting rid of the extra bit that won’t go away no matter how much you exercise or how healthy you eat.
There is nothing unsafe about the procedure and it doesn’t “slosh” around inside of you. You experience some swelling, bruising – but the procedure itself is painless. After a couple weeks, you develop some nodules, which eventually go away. I’ve lost over an inch in each thigh and almost an inch in my lower abs – as I mentioned, these are areas that just wouldn’t go away.
Facts about this procedure:
Lipo-dissolve is a procedure which removes stubborn pockets of fat that one can’t get rid of despite proper dieting and exercise. A compound is injected into the fat layer of targeted areas, and over time, the fat dissolves and passes through the body as waste. It is a non-surgical fat removal procedure that has been available in Europe for more than a decade. More than 200,000 treatments have been administered worldwide.
The substances used in lipo-dissolve are standardized, although providers may use slightly different proportions of the two primary ingredients, which are phosphatidylcholine (PC) and deoxcycholate (DC). Both of these substances occur naturally in our bodies. Phosphatidylcholine makes up 40% of the cell membrane; deoxycholate is a bile salt. The PC used in lipo-dissolve treatments is a soy extract and the DC is a bovine derivative, as are many pharmaceutical agents currently prescribed for humans, including the estrogen in hormone replacement therapy and insulin, among many others.
Both PC and DC are ingredients in other approved therapeutic agents.
Treatments consist of multiple microinjections of a formula produced by a state-licensed compounding pharmacy which breakdown fat cells that are then eliminated naturally from the body. Reputable medical practices that offer this procedure do so only after a prospective patient has had a thorough medical evaluation by a physician and it is determined that the patient is a good candidate. If so, the doctor writes a prescription for the formula, and customizes a treatment plan for that patient.
Lipo-dissolve treatments have not been approved by the FDA, and the place I got it done discloses that information to every patient. The formula used in lipo-dissolve treatments is produced by a state-licensed compounding pharmacy in a sterile environment, and checked for purity prior to be dispensed by prescription.
Finally: This is not a weight loss program. It’s about losing inches rather than pounds. Individuals who have lipo-dissolve procedures done generally experience up to a three-inch loss of fat in the desired area
Also, it probably just liquifies the fat, making it worse. You can’t make fat ‘disappear’ with another chemical. At best, you can probably break it down into some other organic material, but then you’ve got that floating around in you.
“non-evasive.” I dunno, sounds pretty “evasive” to me. :)
Admittedly… I am a cheap-skate. But $2000 to lose an inch? Totally not worth it. That’s a lot of shoes and books and boneless-skinless chicken breasts.
I hate to say this, but having a Gastro-Bypass surgery sounds more fun.
Violet: Yes! I forgot about that! Ha, I was hoping someone else would know it.
Scarlett: I agree, I probably need to look up more on it before I go ahead and nix it completely, but I’ve looked up a little bit on it and my main problem with it is that no one knows the long term effects. “There are no significant studies demonstrating where the medication travels or how it may affect organs, what the proper dosage or ingredient requirement is, the short term side effects, or long-term complications.”I did find that there were a number of cases with adverse reactions that resulted in deep ulcers. That’s not so good to me.
While further studies could prove this method to be a better alternative to liposuction and such, I think the main point is: why can’t we all just learn to love and accept what we’ve got, stubborn inches and all?
Well… I have also read about this. And, to be honest? If I had the money, I would consider it. Even though I have an injection phobia.
Note I say consider it, not necessarily do it. (And it contains bovine derivatives? That means it’s not vegetarian, right…)
Most of my body, I am fine with. But I carry fat primarily in my arms and legs, and if I lose weight in the rest of me, the arms don’t change. Lifting weights (which I do, and love) just gives me muscles with fat on top.
And I’ve spent more than half my life hating wearing sleeveless or cap-sleeved tops… if I could be as happy about my arms as I am about the rest of me, it would be worth it.
(I’m not saying fat girls shouldn’t wear sleeveless tops, by the way. Just that this girl doesn’t like the way she looks in them.)
It’s temptingly simple, sort of like the botox approach, maybe way less traumatic for a body than liposuction, and it won’t leave scars either. Really though, to me it sounds dodgy at best, injecting chemicals into your body to digest the fat, then depending on your body to re-absorb the breakdown products. That’s the kind of thing that can have longterm whacky effects on your body. What does this do for the connective tissues in the areas injected? What about risks for cancer from the substances or their breakdown products?
Also: FLAB. JAB.
Has nobody else noticed this comedy gold name?
First off… YUCK!
Secondly, whether it eliminates fat cells or “liquifies” (double yuck) fat… unless you’re burning more calories than you take in, there’s no real place for those fatty acids to go except to hang out in your blood stream for a while then go back into other fat cells.
Thirdly… EEEEEEWWWWWWWW!!!!
That was my question, exactly: how does this stuff finally get eliminated from your body? I mean, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but even our old friend “anal leakage” would be more comforting than this.
I’m really glad to know that someone else in the world is as afraid of needles as I am. Voluntary injections? HA!
I can’t find a link, but you may remember the pix that came out a few months ago of Melanie Griffiths wearing shorts and what looked like horribly wrinked flesh-coloured stockings. Only she wasn’t wearing stockings!
The explanation was that she’d had too many Lipo-Dissolve injections leaving her with freakish loose skin – not that poor, deluded Melanie ever had fat thighs to begin with.
http://www.nosamislespeople.com/wp-content/uploads/MELANIE_GRIFFITH_2.jpg
That’s the pic you’re talking about, and yeah, that’s what I was thinking too — doesn’t it mean you end up with saggy skin where the fat was? So you gotta add a skin tuck to the price of the lipodissolve.
Actually, there are 24 scientific papers supporting the safety and efficacy of lipodissolve
Yagima Odo ME, Cucé LC, Odo LM, Natrielli A.
Action of sodium deoxycholate on subcutaneous human tissue: local and systemic effects. Dermatol Surg. 2007 Feb;33(2):178-88; discussion 188-9
Bechara FG, Sand M, Hoffmann K, Sand D, Altmeyer P, Stucker M
Fat tissue after lipolysis of lipomas: a histopathological and immunohistochemical study.
J Cutan Pathol. 2007 Jul;34(7):552-7.
Salles AG, Valler CS, Ferreira MC. Histologic response to injected phosphatidylcholine in fat tissue: experimental study in a new rabbit model.
Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2006 Jul-Aug;30(4):479-84; discussion 485
Rotunda AM, Kolodney MS. Mesotherapy and phosphatidylcholine injections: historical clarification and review. Dermatol Surg. 2006 Apr;32(4):465-80
Bechara FG, Sand M, Sand D, Rotterdam S, Stücker M, Altmeyer P, Hoffmann K. Lipolysis of lipomas in patients with familial multiple lipomatosis: an ultrasonography-controlled trial J Cutan Med Surg. 2006 Jul-Aug;10(4):155-9.
Rittes PG, Rittes JC, Carriel Amary MF. Injection of phosphatidylcholine in fat tissue: experimental study of local action in rabbits. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2006 Jul-Aug;30(4):474-8.
Rose PT, Morgan M. Histological changes associated with mesotherapy for fat dissolution. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2005 Mar;7(1):17-9
Bechara FG, Sand M, Altmeyer P, Hoffmann K. Intralesional lipolysis with phosphatidylcholine for the treatment of lipomas: pilot study. Arch Dermatol. 2006 Aug;142(8):1069-70; author reply 1070
Kopera D, Binder B, Toplak H, Kerl H, Cerroni L. Histopathologic changes after intralesional application of phosphatidylcholine for lipoma reduction: report of a case. Am J Dermatopathol. 2006 Aug;28(4):331-3
Hexsel D, Serra M, Mazzuco R, Dal’Forno T, Zechmeister D. Phosphatidylcholine in the treatment of localized fat. J Drugs Dermatol. 2003 Oct;2(5):511-8
Kopera D, Binder B, Toplak H. Intralesional lipolysis with phosphatidylcholine for the treatment of lipomas: pilot study. Arch Dermatol. 2006 Mar;142(3):395-6
Rittes PG, Rittes JC, Carriel Amary MF. Injection of phosphatidylcholine in fat tissue: experimental study of local action in rabbits. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2006 Jul-Aug;30(4):474-8
Rotunda AM, Ablon G, Kolodney MS. Lipomas treated with subcutaneous deoxycholate injections. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2005 Dec;53(6):973-8. Epub 2005 Oct 19
Hasengschwandtner, F Injection Lipolysis for Effective Reduction of Localized Fat in Place of minor surgical Lipoplasty Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 2006 125-130.
Heinrich Karl G. Efficacy of Injections of Phosphotidylcholine Onto Fat Deposits: A Non-Surgical Alternative to Liposuction in Body-Contouring
Presented at the Coinvention Operative Dertmatologie, Frankfurt 28 -31., 10, 2005
Hasengschwandtner, F Phosphatidylcholine treatment to induce liolysis J of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2005, 4, 308-313.
Duncan, D. Hasengschwandtner, F Lipodissolve for subcutaneous Far Reduction and Skinx Retyraction Aesthetic Surgery J, 2005, 530-543.
Hasengschwandtner F. Treatment with Phosphatidylcoline in reference to Lipodissolve. (June 2004).
Ablon, G. Rotuns A M Treatment of Lower Eyelid Fat Pads Using Phosphatidylcholine: Clinical Trial and Review. Dermatologic Surgery, 30 Issue 3: 422: March 2004
Rotunda AM, Suzuki H, Moy RL, Kolodney MS. Detergent effects of sodium deoxycholate are a major feature of an injectable phosphatidylcholine formulation used for localized fat dissolution. Dermatol Surg. 2004 Jul;30(7):1001-8
Rittes PG The Use of Phosphatidylcholine for Correction of Localized Fat Deposits.: Am Soc for Aesth Plastic Surg 2003: 27; 315-318
Hasengschwandtner F Examination of blood values after subcutaneous administration of PC. EACS 2005, Austria
Doris Hexsel, MD Phosphatidylcholine in the treatment of Localized Fat. Professor of Dermatology, Plinio, Brazil. Ref: October 2003.
Rittes PG. The use of phosphatidylcholine for correction of lower lid bulging due to prominent fat pads. Dermatol Surg. 2001 Apr;27(4):391-2
After reading Susan’s post about Melanie Griffith I think (even if I had the money) I’ll keep my bit of stubborn cushioning. Eck!
I think we should all take a moment and bow to the English, for coming up with the brilliant product name “Flabjab”.
Made of awesome.
Why was my comment deleted? I was not blasting Melanie Griffith, but simply linking to the image mentioned by Susan (the other one). And I continued on that example about saggy skin, nothing else. Sheesh.
ok, nevermind, it was “awaiting moderation”… Phew.
We’ve heard from over 90 consumers who’ve provided Lipodissolve reviews. The current stats: 54% say their LD experience was not worth it. The stories are incredible, not all bad, but clearly LD customers are seeing variable results.
Sorry, to disappoint some of you but the fact is that with most cosmetic treatments there are NO ACTUAL detailed studies that explain exactly what long-term consequences would be. For example, how many people die from plastic surgery in this country every year? There is not a single sheet of data we can access to actually know the truth.
Considering surgery, these small injections with soy-beans don’t really concern me as much as surgery. I had a friend to the treatments and she had great results. But it took several weeks before I actually saw anything. Beats surgery in my view.
Hi,interesting post most of the details of lipodissolve have been mentioned.This treatment is getting popular many people are opting for lipodissolve as compared to cosmetic surgery.