Mesotherapy & Lipodissolve: Are These Beauty Procedures Heroes or Zeros? Procedures

The name of the game today in cosmetic surgery is fast and non-invasive. We turned to board certified Philadelphia plastic surgeon Dr. Kirk Brandow to breakdown cosmetic surgery hype – which procedures are zeros not heroes. So what about mesotherapy and lipodissolve?

Several cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists agree that if there is one procedure to avoid when shopping for a slimmer look, it's one called lipodissolve, a shot that claims to dissolve away stubborn fat deposits. Dr. Brandow says this shot is often part of “mesotherapy,” which is a shallow injection of a cocktail of substances using a fine needle.

"There is really not a single scientific study to show that it definitely works," says Dr. Brandow. Are these chemicals safe when injected into fat? What happens to this fat? Where does it go? Dr. Brandow feels lipodissolve is an ill-advised treatment. “This is a non-FDA approved use of a material called lipostabil, which can dissolve fat and other structures however, it can cause pain, swelling, hard lumps, ulceration of the skin, and contour irregularities. None of the pharmaceuticals used for injection are FDA approved.”