Liposuction or Mesotherapy? Plastic Surgeon Says Liposuction is Better and Safer

According to Dr. Allan Parungao, who is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, patients are well-advised to stay away from injection fat-loss treatments, such as mesotherapy. For those wanting safe, effective fat removal, Parungao says, liposuction is the only proven method to date.

In a Sept. 29 press release, Parungao talks about both methods of fat removal. The release says that, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), more than 400,000 liposuction procedures were performed on patients in the U.S. in 2006.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) describes liposuction as a surgical procedure whereby fat is removed from under the skin with the use of either a canula, which suctions out the fat, or an ultrasonic probe the breaks up the fat into small pieces before removing it with suction. The FDA cautions, however, that liposuction is not recommended for weight loss, but is intended to remove localized fat and shape the body. Potential patients should also be aware, according to the FDA, that any licensed doctor may perform liposuction. Specifically, the FDA says, "while some physicians' professional societies may recommend training before performing liposuction surgery, no standardized training is required. As a result, there will be differences in experience and training in physicians performing liposuction."

Parungao says that "liposuction has a long and successful track record." Also known as "suction-assisted lipoplasty or suction lipectomy," liposuction is a minimally invasive form of plastic surgery. Parungao also says that "newer techniques, such as tumescent liposuction and ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty, offer more-precise results and quicker recovery times. Liposuction patients are typically up and around right away, and most go back to work in just a few days."

Regarding mesotherapy, a fat-dissolving procedure, Parungao says it's less reliable, despite getting a lot of attention of late. Mesotherapy is a relatively new technique also known as injection lipolysis. According to ASAPS, the treatment claims to reduce or eliminate local fat deposits when "various compounds" are injected into the subcutaneous fat. There has not yet been FDA approval, but a clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of one type of injection lipolysis treatment will begin soon.

The study, which was designed and funded by the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation, will be conducted under FDA supervision. The clinical trial will follow patients for 46 weeks to evaluate the efficacy of one form of injection lipolysis and collect data on adverse reactions and any long-term complications. The study will also evaluate the efficacy and safety of the treatment, according to ASAPS.

In May 2007, ASAPS warned against the use of injection fat-loss treatments, stating: "Although marketed as fat-loss treatments, these procedures are scientifically unproven, lacking any objective data on safety and efficacy. In addition, none of these procedures has received FDA approval, with the ingredients poorly defined. The procedures also may be offered by persons without sufficient medical training, thereby putting patients at risk of harm."

Now that a clinical trial is about to get underway, time will tell if mesotherapy will eventually be proven as safe and effective as liposuction is said to be.

Sources:

Press release, Liposuction Tops Mesotherapy as Proven Fat-loss Method, Plastic Surgeon Notes; http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/9/prweb557317.htm

ASAPS; http://www.surgery.org/press/news-release.php?iid=483

FDA; http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/liposuction/what.html