Dr.Amron’s Opinion on Liposonix and Advancements in Non-Surgical Body Contouring

I have devoted almost 20 years to specializing in liposculpture and revision liposculpture surgery. In almost 2 decades, I have seen hundreds of new technologies come and go . Today, more than ever, there are too many competing and confusing approaches to both surgical and non surgical fat reduction.

Because I have a responsibility to offer the best treatment and care for my patients, I follow technological advancements thoroughly and the literature extremely closely. I am careful to adopt any newly marketed approach and am often cynical and skeptical about “the latest trend”. None of this is more true than with regard to machines used to target fat non surgically.

Only recently have there been any FDA approved devices to non surgically reduce and destroy fat tissue. Zeltiq or cryolipolysis was the first to receive FDA approval in 2010. While I do feel there is reasonable scientific and clinical studies to support its modest improvement to reduce the fat layer in patients that do not wish to undergo surgery, I decided to pass on cryolipolysis for a number of reasons. To begin with, there is no good evidence that cryolipolysis unlike well done liposuction can tighten skin. Secondly, because cryolipolysis essentially sandwiches the skin between ice, I had concerns over shelves or drop offs, and its lack of ability to truly sculpt. Additionally, it is very limited to areas that can be treated and as well to who may be a candidate. Finally, I was waiting for the arrival and FDA approval of focused ultrasound, which I have been closely following the effectiveness of it in its use around the world over the last several years.

Liposonix, or high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), recently received FDA approval for non-surgical fat reduction. Liposonix is the first and only non surgical device that I, as a Liposuction specialist, trust to achieve improved body contours non surgically for my patients. While I still feel that non-surgical fat removal is never a replacement for perfectly done surgical liposculpture, it is now an option that I believe is worthwhile for the patient that does not want to undergo surgery.

But once again, as I have and continue to stress, surgical and non-surgical fat tissue reduction is primarily a rebalancing procedure to target areas of genetic disproportion. It should always be about targeting this disproportion to make a disproportionate patient proportionate. For this reason, I feel it is extremely important for the patient to be evaluated by a surgeon with extensive experience in liposculpture to determine if he or she is a good candidate for a non-surgical procedure or better suited to a surgical procedure or possibly should not have any procedure at all. If not, a prospective patient may not only waste money and expectations but most importantly run the risk of being thrown out of proportion. As I have always said, a perfect result begins with perfect judgment by a surgeon with extensive experience in the proper contouring of the body.