I know I have written on this topic in the past, so I will limit my diatribe and refer you to earlier posts. BUT….the Wall Street Journal personal section had an extensive article on these technologies recently that has brought the topic of non invasive fat removal in the forefront again. Like most articles written about beauty, there was not full disclosure from those in the know! Point being-these technologies are NOT the standard of care for fat removal. Way too many patients are wasting valuable time and money trying to take off inches with these Zerona and Zeltiq devices. What the article did address, which is a valid topic, is that fat is a complex, very functionable part of our body in regards to metabolism, storing and dealing with toxins, and hormonal regulation. Hypothetically, if we can melt large amounts of fat non-invasively (which we cannot) what would the consequences on the body be. My impression is that it would not be the best thing for you. If you have garbage in your backyard- cart it out, don’t melt it down or burn it. The same holds true with fat. Liposuction, particularly Tumescent Liposuction performed solely under local anesthesia is still the safest and most effective method of fat removal hands down. The Zerona and Zeltiq technologies offer very limited amounts of fat removal, if any. Is there a future in these technologies- I do hope so. But for now, in my opinion, it is still science fiction. Unfortunately, 15-20% of my liposuction patients have already spent time and money on these or similar technologies. There were obviously not happy to realize the hard way that Tumescent Liposuction was going to be the only answer for them.

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