Had 1st vanquish treatment Tuesday: had hot spot. It's now sore & feels 'lumpy'. What could this be?

Lumps after VanquishVanquish used RF to heat the fat cells to the point they are
destroyed.If you had a “hot spot”
during your treatment there could have been more fat cells in that area.By destroying the fat cells we are causing
fat cell death (fat necrosis).This
lump you feel is probably fat necrosis that your body has not absorbed yet.In our office we use the Z Wave with every
Vanquish treatment.The Z Wave uses
sound waves to “break up” the fat Vanquish destroyed and in my opinion it
reduces any lumps and helps the body absorb the fat faster.If your provider has the Z Wave it may be
worth a try.

The BTL Vanquish ME platform from BTL Aesthetics  represents an advanced implementation of Selective RF. During
treatment, the unit’s non-contact device (or applicator) is positioned over the
area to be treated and delivers RF-based energy, initiating induced apoptosis.  Occassionally localized areas of fat will be accelerated and the area can become fibrous, dense or perceived lumpy. This will resolve in several weeks and anti-inflammatories like Ibuprofen can be helpful.#Vanquishdestroysfat   #fatreductiontreatments #Vanquishnoninvasive

Hello and thank you for your question.  The lumpy, tender spot you're feeling is likely panniculitis. In other words, a clump of dead fat cells that just hasn't been absorbed by your body yet. We use cellutone in our office to help with that. It will eventually go away. If it is quite tender, you can take ibuprofen. Hope this helps!!
Holly, RN

You can look at this tender lump as a good thing, even though it does not seem like it at the moment, because it is definitive proof that the radiofrequency is killing your fat cells at a very rapid pace.  The lump is a basically a ball of inflamed dead fat cells.  Your body has not yet cleared these cells.  It will eventually do so.  In my office, we use Cellutone after each treatment to help break up the fat cells and clear them toward your lymphatic drainage system. Making sure you are extremely well hydrated by drinking at least 64 oz of water daily the week before treatment can help to prevent them.  In addition, always communicate with your provider if you have hot spots during treatment so that it can be addressed instead of "sticking it out", so that they can help prevent fat necrosis lumps. You should delay your next treatment until this tender lump improves or it will continue to worsen with more dead fat cells around it.  Cellutone treatments can help it to resolve more quickly as well.

Thank you for your answer. Early on, many patients were reporting tender areas with a small ball or knot. This is due to increased fat cell death in areas. With newer protocols, these areas are much less frequently seen. At our center in St Louis, we have developed the Vanquish Me Now protocol which combines Vanquish Me with 3 other modalities to optimize our results. This has almost eliminated the tender, lumpy areas patients have experienced.

Lumps are actually proof that treatments are working, almost too well. By that , I mean that a large group of fat cells are destroyed quickly in some areas and they form the lumps. We usually wait an extra week or two before resuming treatments.

Hi,We counsel patients that rarely they may have an area of panniculitis or accllerated fat loss in a focal area of treatment.  This is seen more in fibrous areas.  We recommend that patients massage the area and take Aleeve or Motrin and it resolves in 1-2 weeks.Best,Dr. Liu

Panniculitis (fat inflammation) can occur after Vanquish RF treatment. It will eventually resolve on its own. Avoid manipulation of the area and further treatment until it does. For the discomfort, take ibuprofen and apply cool compresses. Follow-up with your physician if the nodule/lump or pain persists.