Watch The Fat Melt Away ... Literally

Kelly Wallace Examines Lipodissolve, A New Fat Loss Procedure

(CBS)  While many people are eager to shed their extra pounds, it's usually easier said than done. Although liposuction is a viable surgical option for fat loss, there is a new alternative for losing inches: lipodissolve.

On The Early Show, CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace explored this new procedure, which claims to melt away fat.

Lipodissolve is a series of injections designed to dissolve fat from problem areas such as the stomach.

Dr. Roger Friedman is one doctor who is practicing this new procedure. He is the medical director of Medsculpt, a lipodissolve clinic with offices in Maryland and Virginia.

"Lipodissolve is a technique by which we're injecting material in the fatty tissue. That liquid dissolves the fatty tissue, creating a local inflammatory reaction, which means you're going to get some swelling. You may feel some lumpiness. Then, over time, the fatty cells will dissolve," Friedman said.

The procedure involves dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of injections at a time. Patients receive a minimum of three treatments over the course of several months. Patients should expect to lose at least a half an inch on their waistline per treatment, according to Friedman.

"It's not a weight loss procedure, it's a contour issue," Friedman said. "We tell people that they're going to lose about a half inch or more per treatment. So a person may say, 'gosh my waistline was 38 inches, now it's 35.'"

Friedman is a strong advocate of lipodissolve because of its lack of invasiveness. He said, "It's very different. And the real difference is volume. We're not doing volume. We're doing inches. It doesn't require an anesthetic. It doesn't require a hospital visit. It doesn't really require recovery."

Patients are injected with PCDC, a solution containing bile salt, which helps break down fat. Although the procedure has been performed in Europe for more than a decade, PCDC has yet to be approved by the FDA.

Lipodissolve has been met with opposition from plastic surgeons. Dr. Alan Gold, president-elect of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, says there's no scientific proof that the injections are safe or that they work.

Gold said, "We don't know how it works. They're surmising how it works. We need to have proof before, in good conscience, we can recommend it to more patients."

Medsculpt says it has treated 500 satisfied patients since January, but Gold still believes that there are serious risks that need to be taken into consideration by patients.

"(Although) they may have seen good results, there are certainly complications. There are infections. There are areas of skin death over the areas that are injected," Gold said.

The price of lipodissolve depends on the size of the area you have done, but the average cost is around $2,000.

[caroldray1]

Well, first I would like to say thank you to "Fig" in Scottsdale, AZ. My first visit was in March of this year, I have had 5 treatments of my outer thighs, 4 treatments on both my inner thighs and under my buttocks(the banana). I get measured after my 6th visit, and I can't wait!!!I KNOW I've lost inches, but how many I'm unsure of.My husband could probably tell you though. I can say that I've gone down at least one pant size. There are no quick fixes, and believe me this definately isn't a quick fix! I swell and bruise quite a bit, and for about 2 days I'm pretty sore, and a bit uncomfortable. But as they say "NO PAIN NO GAIN".....Before I moved to Arizona a year and a half ago, I was a personal trainer for 24hr Fitness in Portland,Or. I'm 46 years old and a mother of one. I struggled all my life with weight issues. But even in my best shape, I was never really happy because no matter what I did and how hard I worked out and ate right, I still had those areas that seemed to stay the same. And all I seemed to see were those areas. Since joining "Fig", I have taken up running. So 7 days a week I hike and run about 4-5miles every morning,I still weight train. A good diet goes without saying. I just feel that "Fig" has given me what I can't do for myself....I know that everybody is different, but for me it most definately works!!I can't wait to move on to my next area which is my lovehandles!!! I would do it all over again.

[itow2]

I started lipodissolve about this time last year. A friend went & told me it worked for her. I was extremely skeptical, I had liposuction done in 1991 and was very dissappointed. My thighs were left looking like elephant legs. Skin loose, wavy and hanging so badly I couldn't ever wear shorts again, not even long ones, skin hung down over my knees. So at my consultation they told me how it rebuilds the collagen and helps to firm the skin. Today I wear a string bikini, went from a size 10 to a 4, feel and look better now at age 48 than I even thought of 20 years ago. I love Jen and the others who have helped me out at the clinic in Chesterfield, MO.

[cabinjohny]

I had lipo-dissolve at MedSculpt in the winter. As I found out, this is not something you do to lose weight. I am in my 50's and despite exercising for over an hour and a half 5 days a week and being a vegetarian, I couldn't get rid of the ugly pockets of fat on my sides. You know, the garbage that hangs over the top of your pants. I have a neighbor who did this, I visited the center and I liked what I saw so I rolled the dice. It was my first time into the world of cosmetic stuff. But it worked for me. I'm down from 38 inches to 36 inches. I stumbled onto the program yesterday and what I saw was a lot like what happened to me.

[erdav]

Just wanted to make sure everyone understands that this is not something that you should try because you need to lose weight. I haven't lost any weight from this, but I have lost inches. I work out 5 days a week, see a personal trainer, eat right, etc. I'm very healthy and fit. However, I've had 3 kids and that changed my body. All of the sudden I hat pockets of fat where I never had them before. I tried exercising and eating right, but I could never get my body back to the way it was. It's just something that has bothered me so I decided to do something about it. I tried lipodissolve and it worked. There's nothing wrong with wanting to feel good about the way you look.

[pegbundyii]

America - What ever happened to go old exercise? It's no wonder we have a nation of overweight children considering the example the adults are setting. Instead of all the money poured into quick fixes and various types of plastic surgery, you could use that money to go to a nutritionist and buy quality tasty foods. I too fight the battle of the bulge but I choose the harder path of commitment, diet, and exercise. Stop taking the easy way out, you will only regain the weight. Consider the time it took to put on the weight and it should take about that long to take it off in a healthy manner. Put in those extra walking or gym hours and it may lessen the time to lose the weight. Make wise food choices and get off the couch and you CAN do it. I highly recommend the Discovery Health Channel free diet and exercise program. Go to Discovery channel on line for all the free details, you even get a virtual personal trainer. Let's all work together for a healthier America!

[lawyertom1]

What you lose is fat cells. However, without a change of diet and increase in exercise, you will still generate fat. Where does it go?? The answer may be in the recent studies that have shown that even "skinny" people can be at risk for heart disease etc. because the body packs the fat around their internal organs, not just under the skin. So, with lipodissolve you dissolve the fat in one place, and (what a surprise) it is packed on elsewhere. Yes, you look better, but you still die from the effects of fat accumulation (studies show also that fat itself puts off lots of hormones and other factors that have a major impact on the body -- it is not good stuff to have in excess, though you need some for proper health). So, eat less, exercise more, and stop thinking that vanity is all that matters. Why do you think the doctors do a CYA and say it is "contour" technique, not a weight loss method? You have better things to do with your body and your money that pay someone to deal with image, but not your health. Foolish expenditure.

[erdav]

I had my lovehandles treated at MedSculpt. Had 2 treatments so far and lost 3 inches. I didn't have any of the scary side effects like skin death. I was warnmed that if I didn't follow the post treatment regimen, that it was a possibility. I guess compression in the area treated can cause blistering and skin death so you have to take care of yourself afterwards. I did my research and decided to go with a place that specialized in this procedure. A friend of mine just had her first treatment on her abdomen about 6 weeks ago and is just now starting to see results. I had bruising and swelling but it went away pretty fast.

[derekarla]

I am 5'5" and 125 lbs. and received 3 lipodissolve treatments in my hip/leg area with a local MD and had good results in terms of inches lost (almost 4 inches of my upper leg circumference so far!!!). I still have a lot of rippling and bruising (last treatment was 6 weeks ago) and the experience was very unpleasant. Unlike my friends (me and 2 friends did the treatment together) who had less side effects, I had severe swollen and bruising to the point that my hips/legs look like ground meat for 3 days after the procedure, being the first treatment the worse.
We are very satisfied with the results, but about a week ago, one of the friends who did the lipodissolve treatments with me, meet a local women in her 40's (treated by the same doctor) who had an adverse reaction and develop serious localized necrosis in her hip/leg area, and had to go to a plastic surgeon to have 2 skin grafts to "attempt" to fix the problem.
In the light of such event, I would have never undergo the lipodissolve treatments, I feel sick to my stomach to think that that women could have been me.

[hypnotoad72]

Used for more than a decade in Europe? Time to move it to the US. Plastic surgeons will always be wanted; there's far more to their job than sucking fat (and money) from people's waistlines.

[dzfromsc]

My friend is doing it now and has had no negative side effects. She looks great and feels great. I'm researching but I bet I'll be doing it too. Hers was about $100 a visit and she goes once a month.

[marieel-2009]

Jairod,
No hanging skin. In fact, the skin begins to draw in all by itself. Check out their website MedSculpt.com to see before and after pictures for yourself.

I asked a lot of questions to be sure. I knew my only other option was liposuction and I would not go to that extreme for vanity's sake.

[jairod]

MarieEl: curiuos...As the fat is reduced by this method, are you left with hanging skin as those with liposuction and gastric bypass? And, do the treatments include, if so required, removal of the hanging skin?

[marieel-2009]

Well, I am one of the 500 that is quoted that MedSculpt has treated. I have not had skin death occur in either of the two treatments I've recieved thus far and discomfort has been minimal. I'm not overweight so no diet technique would have been able to resolve my issue which was my chin area. I'm not overweight and I work out regularly. I look forward to the 3rd treatment and to finally being able to take a picture and not worry about whether I'll have a double chin.