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Posts Tagged ‘fat’

Say Goodbye to Your Unwanted Love Handles: CoolSculpting by Zeltiq Receives FDA Clearance For Non-Invasive Fat Reduction!!

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

            Great news everyone!  CoolSculpting by Zeltiq has now been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for the non-invasive reduction of fat.  This means that Zeltiq has had to prove through many rounds of scientific testing that their product does exactly what it claims: a procedure which delivers a proven method for the selective reduction of “love handles” or flank.  Used off label, Zeltiq has been proven to reduce areas of fat in the stomach and back as well.  

There has been a strong demand for non-invasive procedures that address the concerns of people who are not overweight, but have pockets of fat that they cannot rid of through traditional methods of diet and exercise.  Until now, the only methods of fat reduction were invasive surgical procedures.  CoolSculpting is the exciting new non-invasive approach that gently cools unwanted fat cells in the body to induce a natural controlled elimination of these cells. This reduces buldges in the area treated, on average about 20%.  Patients typically begin to see results as soon as three weeks following treatment, with the most dramatic results occurring over a period of two to four months.

Unlike other methods of fat reduction, there are no needles, surgery, or downtime!  An applicator is placed on the patient in the area to be treated and suctions the fat into a chamber while cooling the underlying fat layer, leaving the skin unharmed.  A cold gel pad is placed on the skin in order to protect the outer skin tissue.  The procedure takes one hour per area treated, while you are free to read, watch a movie, or get to all of those work emails that have been building up in your inbox!  Following treatment, you are able to return to work or finish out the rest of your day with no downtime!   Several weeks after the procedure, the cooled fat cells begin a process called apoptosis (natural cell death).  These cells then begin to shrink and then are selectively, painlessly, and permanently destroyed, leaving you with a leaner, slimmer waist! 

Candidates for this procedure are those individuals who are near their ideal body weight, who eat well and exercise regularly and have pockets of fat that have not responded to a healthy lifestyle. This is a long- lasting spot reduction for a specific area of fat.  If you think you are the ideal candidate and are looking for a non-invasive proven and safe method of fat reduction then call our office today!

Kathleen Welsh, MD

415-292-6350

2299 Post St, Ste 312

San Francisco, CA 94115

 

The Latest on Cellulite: Notes from a San Francisco Bay Area Dermatologist

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

No matter how advanced technology becomes with lasers, ultrasound, radio frequency or infrared heat techniques, a truly effective, long lasting treatment for cellulite remains elusive.  Why is cellulite such a difficult problem to treat?  Well, let’s start with exactly what that cottage cheese-like appearance is all about.

Cellulite is an architectural issue between connective tissue of the skin and fatty tissue.  The skin is connected to underlying muscle by fibrous connective cords.  Fat lies between these structures.  The fat pushes out against the skin, while the cords pull down, creating a dimpling effect on the surface.  The number, orientation and way these connective cords are organized in the tissue affects the amount and severity of cellulite a person may have.  Even though it is a common problem, It is a complex one, which is why there is no easy solution.

Cellulite is typically seen in the thighs, hips and buttocks of most women and may be genetically linked.  Excessive weight can make cellulite more noticeable, but it can be seen in lean body types as well.  It can also worsen with age as the skin loses elasticity.

You’ve probably seen countless ads with promises to eliminate cellulite.  The truth is that no single treatment is completely effective.  Topical creams, massage therapy and body wraps only provide a temporary effect on the appearance of cellulite at best, if they even do anything at all.  Of all the topical treatments, studies did show that topically applied retinol over a period of 6 months improved the appearance of cellulite because it helped stimulate collagen production and strength in the skin.  Mesotherapy, a technique that uses the injection of various substances into the fatty tissue to dissolve it, remains largely unstudied and can have unpredictable outcomes or only temporary improvement.  More invasive procedures, such as liposuction, can remove fat in the deeper layers, but its effect on superficial fat mostly seen in cellulite can be disappointing.  Laser assisted liposuction may be helpful for very small localized surface areas, but also requires more study.  Devices that combine radio frequency, infrared heat and suction with massage have gained popularity, but results on their effectiveness are often mixed and they typically require on-going treatments.

A new concept that may have future application for cellulite reduction is cryolysis.  There is evidence that fatty tissue is sensitive to cold temperature injury.  Currently, this concept is used in the Zeltiq procedure (cryolipolysis), which reduces small pockets of fat in the waist and love-handle areas of the body.  We have seen amazing results with the Zeltiq for this indication and I look forward to more research on cryolysis for the improvement of cellulite as well.  Trust me, as soon as there is a safe, non-invasive device that truly improves cellulite, we will offer it!!

 

Can We Freeze Fat? - Notes from a San Francisco Bay Area Dermatologist

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

If you have ever seen a dermatologist for a wart or for precancerous lesions, your treatment may have included a spray of liquid nitrogen that  “freezes” the skin.  This method is known as cryosurgery, which cools skin tissue to an extreme temperature, destroying cells.

There is now preliminary evidence that this same concept may be applied to underlying adipose or fatty tissue, which would compete with fat removal techniques like liposuction.  As reported in Dermatology Times, the group at Harvard Medical School in Boston published a paper on a method to remove excess fat called selective cryolysis.  Through intact skin of pigs, they used a cold element at varying degrees to affect the underlying fatty tissue.  Assessments performed immediately afterward and at increments up to three months, showed an obvious loss of subcutaneous fat.  Inflammation was reported for up to four weeks after the treatment, but no signs of injury to the overlying skin, pigment changes, scarring or textural changes were noted.

While this study has yet to be applied to humans, it does introduce a unique concept for safe fat dissolution.  I look forward to further research and results as this method continues to be explored.

 

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