Mesotherapy is among the latest cosmetic weight loss procedures that promise to remove fat. However, despite advice or offer from aesthetic or cosmetic surgeons to perform mestotherapy, not all doctors are sold on this procedure for fat removal, which is still quite new.

The principle of mesotherapy

Mesotherapy is premised on a simple theory which amounts to injecting particular chemicals into fatty areas with the aim in mind of breaking down the fat cells. In the absence of the thin cell membrane, the fat inside the fat cell is distributed to the adjacent part, the extracellular matrix, to be taken in by the blood.

Thus, wherever a cocktail of mesotherapy chemicals is infused, the fat cells disintegrate to release their contents for absorption into the bloodstream. The fat is handled by the liver and kidneys, utilize some of it and excrete the rest later. This results in the apparent reduction in size of the injected areas in a few days to weeks.

Mesotherapy cocktails

A mesotherapy cocktail has two main ingredients – deoxycholate and phosphatidylcholine. Deoxycholate, a bile acid, is among the fat-dissolving molecules in our intestine. It has a detergent action, like breaking down grease to be water soluble, deoxyholate works on the fat to be easily melted and taken into the digestive tract. On the other hand, phosphatidylcholine is a part of the cell membrane that makes it more fluid. A concentrated amount of phosphatidylcholine works together with the fat cells’ membranes and results in their liquefication, enough to easily break down.

The capacity of mesotherapy treatment to melt fat is still debatable. One problem is the significant variance in the chemical components of the mesotherapy cocktails. Mesotherapy injections also include a proprietary combination of minerals, antibiotic, hormones, vitamins, steroids and anesthetics. This creates some difficulty in comparing several treatments when there is no single agreement, as yet, as to which chemical works best.

FDA approval not assurance of effectivity

The mesotherapy cocktail ingredients are FDA-approved, individually, but only a few of mesotherapy chemicals have the FDA stamp of approval as a fat-burning or obesity treatment. So, even if each component may be safe, there is still no FDA endorsement of mesotherapy as effective.

Mesotherapy cocktails are the subject of spirited debate among doctors, aesthetic practitioners, surgeons and alternative health care providers. The debate extends to legislators, in some states there are legislations proposing the ban on mesotherapy.

Side effects of mesotherapy

Besides a slow input of and unimpressive reports on the effectivity of mesotherapy (advocates disclose the complete ineffectivity in 5% of the patients), reports on its side effects are quite disconcerting.

Because the make up of the mesotherapy cocktails vary with each physician, the consequences are not that easy to distinguish.

The most common side effects are no perceivable effects, temporary bruising, skin dimpling (only the injected/mesotherapied area is the area of melted fat) and skin infections.

Costs

A single mesotherapy treatment costs around $400, evidently not as expensive as a liposuction treatment. Nevertheless, it would take several mesotherapy injections to be able to perceive major results, making the difference in cost not really that disparate.

Liposuction effectiveness in the short and long run is quite well documented. Mesotherapy still has to establish its own track record. If you have to undergo any fat-burning procedure, you should weigh all angles carefully before deciding on just liposuction or mesotherapy.

Author Bio: Article courtesy of http://www.CosmeticSurgeryToday.com, the consumer’s guide to plastic cosmetic surgery information and resources. Please visit http://www.cosmeticsurgerytoday.com/body_contouring/mesotherapy-%E2%80%93-not-ready-for-prime-time/ for more information.

Category: Medical Business
Keywords: fat burning, liposuction, weight loss, obesity, mesotherapy