Don’t worry; I am not about to leave the comfortable confines of Seattle, where the natural look (thankfully) prevails. But I did have the chance recently to tape a segment for an online lifestyle channel with a couple of Hollywood’s TV docs. It was on a panel on body shaping and I was happy to be able to talk about Liposonix, the FDA-cleared technology that uses highly focused ultrasound for noninvasive fat reduction. I was also able I believe to bring some perspective to surgical liposuction and debunk a few overly hyped fads that have been in the news.

 

One of the things that has come and gone is mesotherapy, at least as practiced in the U.S. for fat reduction and cellulite. It was so controversial that it was banned in some states and even in Brazil. (An interesting side note is that one of the ingredients used in mesotherapy injections probably works, based on preliminary results from ongoing clinical trials.) But for now, the FDA specifically bans mesotherapy.

 

Another topic of confusion in body contouring is the use of laser-assisted liposuction. We didn’t have time to get into this on the panel, but I get questions almost every day about whether laser lipo (for example, “smart lipo,” “slim lipo,” “cool lipo,” etc.) is better than “traditional” lipo. The thing to keep in mind is that they are all surgical liposuction, and the most important is the surgeon’s technique, experience, and judgment, not the branded technology.

 

So I suppose an appearance with famous Hollywood doctors doesn’t add to my expertise, but I hope it does reflect that I have embraced new and exciting technologies when they truly do make a difference.