Mesotherapy — a dangerous procedure
Advertising campaigns, along with marketing materials, report tantalizing no down time, no surgery and no worry procedures for the public who continues to seek non-invasive methods for traditional body contouring operations. Mesotherapy, a method by which fat is reportedly melted is gaining significant popularity in the hands of non-plastic surgeons who perform these procedures with claims of “quick” body contouring. Currently FDA does not approve Mesotherapy also known as injection lipolysis, and because of lack of standardized protocols, lack of evidence based scientific data, and lack of results it is an operation that should be avoided by the public. Some states are actively taking actions against Mesotherapy to limit its use to investigative trails.
Currently there are no double blinded, prospective studies demonstrating the effectiveness of this procedure. One of its most dangerous pitfalls is the lack of uniformity of material that is injected in the human body. Many of the formulas contain some or all of the substances that include phosphatidyl choline, silicium, CRP 1000, hyaluronic acid, glutathione, ascorbic acid, glycolic acid, pyruvate, vitamins, minerals , variety of herbal derivatives of unknown effect, and plant extracts. The procedure includes injection of the substances into the plane of fatty tissue. This then leads to a severe inflammatory process that theoretically “melts” the fat and allows it to get excreted. It is currently unknown how the effect occurs, and it is also unknown how it gets excreted out of the body. One of the main concerns is that the fat cells could rush into the circulating bloodstream and cause catastrophic complications. Another serious effect could be the deleterious effect of the mentioned drugs on individuals who are in some way compromised.
Fig, the company that manufactures LipoDissolve, a highly marketed method of Mesotherapy, closed its doors in December of 2007 and filed for bankruptcy. In our practice we have seen a deluge of unfortunate patients who have spent thousands of dollars on Mesotherapy with out any effects. Unfortunately we have also seen the catastrophic complications of a few patients who have been devastated by the uncontrolled activity of the procedure and now have permanent disfigurement.
Safety has always been and will always be our number one priority. We strongly urge all patients to scrutinize all procedures especially ones such as Mesotherapy that has no scientific merit.
Please contact us if we could be of any assistance in answering your questions.
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