Liposonix: Hype or Reality?

Liposonix is a new FDA approved non-surgical and non-invasive procedure for the removal of unwanted fat. It uses high intensity focused ultrasound to permanently remove fat. After the procedure, most patients will notice results in about 3 months. The procedure takes about 1 hour in the office. There is no downtime and you can go back to work the same day!

Liposonix is an alternative to liposuction. It is not a weight loss procedure or replacement for healthy diet and exercise. The new liposonix is much better than the older version. There is a huge difference.

We use the Liposonix in our practice and have been good good results. The important thing to remember is that it is not a replacement for liposuction because it does not remove high volumes of fat. Liposonix is High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU).  Typically if takes about 3 months to see the maximum results.

I currently am the only plastic surgeon that offers Liposonix in Houston.  I believe in the HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) technology and I do think it works. I see it work in our patients.  I think it is head and shoulders above its competitors in the arena of nonsurgical body contouring.  We are seeing closer to 2 inches (5 cms) reduction at 8 - 12 weeks after the procedure. The treatment typically takes 1 hours; however, depending on the number of areas that are treatment it can be up to 1 1/2 hours.  I do not personally add new technologies to my practice that I do not "academically" evaluate.  I not only researched the liposonix quite a bit prior to purchasing the tecnology for my practice, but I also personally underwent a "demo" on myself - so I can say that it really does not hurt.  There is only minimal discomfort that I would consider mild.  I hope this helps!

I bought  Liposonix because I had a demo treatment on my abdomen a few months ago and I have seen real results.  The technology is amazing and I am a believer because of the results that I see on myself.  Since getting the system a couple of months ago, I did the treatment on my wife followed by an Ulthera treatment over her belly and the results have also been excellent.  

Liposonix technology uses High Intensity Focused Ultrasound to target fat on the abdomen, waistline, flanks, love handles, and muffin top.  The use of Liposonix is geared toward non-surgical and non-invasive liporeduction of the fat without incisions and scars. Liposonix is revolutionary in its ability to recontour the mid torso and is used in my practice for body sculpting.   Patients who require body sculpting or reduction of fat along the mid torso can benefit from this fat melting device. 

Liposonix is an FDA-approved technology that uses high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for permanent reduction of localized fat in a single treatment. The clinical development of the device took several years but it is now well-understood. For example, patients who were going to have a tummy tuck received Liposonix to the tissue that was later removed, in order to document the effects. Vaser Shape and other devices use unfocused ultrasound and does not destroy fat cells.

As one of the first U.S. board-certified aesthetic physician practitioners of Vaser Shape, the only FDA approved external ultrasound body sculpting device, I can state that I am seeing the clinical results that have been reported by our Canadian and European colleagues. However, there is a significant learning curve involved in using Vaser Shape and one should seek out a clinic with significant clinical experience. In our hands, we have seen on average one inch reduction in circumference after first Vaser Shape treatment. The therapeutic course involves 5 weekly noninvasive, minimally painful one hour procedures. The clinical result can be variable depending on one's lifestyle, workout routine, water retention tendency, and diet. Liposonix is a similar ultrasound device (that may require less treatment sessions but involve significant discomfort during treatment) is not currently available at U.S. as of 2010.

That being said, tumescent liposuction remains the gold standard as it offers permanent fat removal; however, for those who are committed to an active healthy lifestyle and do not want any risk of scarring, infection that may be associated with liposuction, Vaser Shape, Liposonix and other forthcoming external ultrasound body sculpting devices may be viable and quite appealing.

Having read reports from overseas practices that are studying external energies designed to reduce fat volume without surgery, there  does appear to be shrinkage of the volume but the studies need to continue to explore what the long term results are and the safety of liquifying fat from the adipose cells in which it is stored without removing these fatty oils (as liposuction is not performed in these procedures).

We offer Liposonix in our practice and it is a wonderful tool to help people eliminate stubborn fat pockets which are resistant to diet and exercise.  Because it is a completely non-invasive treatment, we can not guarantee with 100% certainty how much improvement someone would see after one procedure but we do know that every one benefits from it.  The key to a successful treatment is proper patient selection.  Patients who have more then mild excess fat in the areas that need to be treated tend to see less improvement from one treatment, however, if a patient clearly understands that one treatment of Liposonix will not eliminate all of the unwanted fat and absolutely does not want to consider surgery, it becomes a great alternative.

Liposonix uses High Intensity Focused Ultrasound energy to noninvasively destroy fat cells. It can be done in the office with light sedation. Results are not immediate. It takes 3-4 months to obtain final results. During FDA trials, a quantitative analysis of patients was performed. The circumference of patients' abdomen was measured at the level of the belly button. One treatment of the lower abdomen and/or love handles was performed. Patients were instructed not to change their diet or exercise habits. After 3 months, the circumference of their abdomes was measured again. The average reduction was 1.5 inches. I have been using Liposonix in my office for one year and have done the same quantitative analysis with my patients. The average reduction in waistline is around 2 inches, but I have seen drops ranging from 1.5 - 4.5 inches with one treatment. Everyone is shrinking, and the satisfaction rate is very high.