Mesotherapy For Weight Loss

Last Updated on November 7, 2022 by

Mesotherapy for weight loss is a fantastic alternative to the traditional methods of getting rid of fat regain. Mesotherapy has become popular because, unlike most other weight loss programs, there are no negative side effects and it’s difficult to get this procedure done by an unscrupulous medical professional.

Mesotherapy is one of the revolutionary treatments that is revolutionizing the world of medicine and health and bringing in a new era of permanent treatment for chronic conditions such as obesity, cellulite and excessive sweating. You can learn more about how Mesotherapy For Weight Loss works by visiting my site at https://foodkeg.com/

Mesotherapy For Weight Loss

Mesotherapy is a technique that uses injections of vitamins, enzymes, hormones, and plant extracts to rejuvenate and tighten skin, as well as remove excess fat.

Michel Pistor, a doctor in France, developed the technique in 1952. It was originally used to relieve pain. In the years since, it has gained popularity in the United States and other parts of the world.

Today, mesotherapy is used to:

The technique uses very fine needles to deliver a series of injections into the middle layer (mesoderm) of skin. The idea behind mesotherapy is that it corrects underlying issues like poor circulation and inflammation that cause skin damage.

There isn’t a standard formula for the substances injected in mesotherapy. Doctors use many different solutions, including:

How much does it cost?

The cost of mesotherapy depends on the type of treatment you’re getting and the number of sessions you need. In general, a single session costs between $250 and $600. Because mesotherapy is cosmetic and not medically necessary, insurance companies usually don’t cover the cost.

How do you prepare?

You’ll meet with the doctor ahead of time to find out what to expect. You might have to avoid aspirin (Bufferin) and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for one week before the procedure. These pain relievers can increase your risk of bleeding and bruising during mesotherapy.

What happens during your appointment?

During each session, you may or may not have numbing medicine applied to your skin. You’ll get a series of injections using a special short needle. The needle may be attached to a mechanical gun to deliver many injections in a row.

The injections can be given at different depths — from 1 to 4 millimeters into your skin — depending on what condition you’re having treated. Your doctor may place the needle into your skin at an angle, or flick their wrist very quickly while injecting. Each injection may only place a tiny drop of the solution into your skin.

You’ll probably need several mesotherapy sessions to get the desired effect. You should expect to return to the doctor between 3 to 15 times. At first, you’ll get the injections every 7 to 10 days. If your skin starts to improve, the treatments will be stretched out to once every two weeks or once a month.

How effective is the procedure?

It’s hard to say whether mesotherapy works, because so many different ingredients and methods are used in the treatment. Few studies have been done to test the technique. And many of the studies that have been done were small.

The research that does exist on mesotherapy hasn’t shown much of a benefit for skin rejuvenation. A 2012 studyTrusted Source of six people who got the treatment for six months didn’t show any real improvement in wrinkles. And a 2008 studyTrusted Source of 20 women who got mesotherapy for body contouring found no reduction in thigh size.

How does it compare to liposuction?

Mesotherapy is considered a nonsurgical alternative to liposuction for removing unwanted fat.

Liposuction permanently removes fat from areas like your stomach, thighs, and back. Cosmetic surgeons perform this procedure by inserting a thin plastic tube through small incisions in your skin, and then suctioning out the fat using a surgical vacuum. Liposuction is done while you’re under anesthesia.

Although liposuction is considered effective at permanently removing fat, recovery can take up to six weeks. It also has risks like nerve and blood vessel damage, irregular skin contours, burns, and infection. And liposuction is expensive. In 2016, the average cost of the procedure was $3,200.

Mesotherapy isn’t as invasive a procedure as liposuction. There are no incisions. At $250 to $600 a session, the cost is much lower than liposuction. However, you may need 10 sessions or more to get the results you want.

It’s not clear how well mesotherapy works to remove fat. There hasn’t been enough research done to test it, and the methods that are used differ depending on where you have it done.

Injection lipolysis is another noninvasive treatment that’s similar to mesotherapy. The terms “mesotherapy” and “injection lipolysis” are often used synonymously, though they’re slightly different.

During injection lipolysis, your doctor injects phosphatidylcholine and deoxycholate into the fat layer under the skin to break up fat. As with mesotherapy, there is very little evidence to show injection lipolysis works.

The American Society for Plastic Surgeons doesn’t recommend injection lipolysis or mesotherapy for removing fat. They say there isn’t enough research to confirm these treatments work.

What are the side effects and risks?

People who practice mesotherapy say the risks are minimal if you go to a trained practitioner.

Side effects that have been reported include:

What is the recovery like?

Because mesotherapy is noninvasive, there usually isn’t any downtime. Many people are able to return to their regular activities right away. Others may need to take a day off due to swelling and pain at the injection sites.

Mesotherapy is a promising treatment for removing unwanted fat and body contouring. However, its safety and effectiveness are still unproven. Many of the studies that have been done have looked at mesotherapy for pain — not for cosmetic treatment.

Mesotherapy as a procedure hasn’t been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but many of the ingredients used in the treatment do have FDA approval for treating other conditions. As long as the ingredients have FDA approval, they may be used for mesotherapy. This is considered to be an off-label use of the approved ingredients.

Practitioners don’t use any standard formulas for mesotherapy. That means you might get a completely different treatment with one doctor than you would with another. If you do want to try mesotherapy, see a licensed doctor who has a lot of experience with the procedure. This will help minimize side effects.

Can mesotherapy be used for hair loss?

In addition to treating wrinkles and removing unwanted fat, mesotherapy is also used to treat hair loss from alopecia. The treatment injects natural plant extracts, vitamins, or medicines like finasteride and minoxidil into the head.

People who perform mesotherapy for hair loss claim it:

Yet just as with other uses of mesotherapy, there is little evidence that it works for hair loss. Most of the substances that are injected haven’t been shown in studies to regrow hair. Only finasteride and minoxidilTrusted Source have any evidence to show they work.

The French Way to Lose Weight

Mesotherapy is widely practiced in France as a weight-loss technique, but it hasn’t caught on in the U.S. And some doctors are glad about that.

It should come as no surprise that France, land of l’amour, has come up with a way to give us the svelte, sexy bodies we crave. But even if you can afford it (it’s not cheap and it’s not covered by insurance), is it something you should consider? Like many therapies that loosely come under the heading of “alternative medicine,” it all depends on whom you ask.

The French-imported medical technique that’s all the buzz these days is called mesotherapy. Developed in 1952 in France by Dr. Michel Pistor, originally for the treatment of vascular and infectious diseases, sports injuries, and the improvement of circulation, the technique involves the injection of small amounts of various medications into the mesoderm, the layer of fat and connective tissue under the skin. The theory is that when these small amounts of medication are injected into the mesoderm, underlying fat is melted.

Since 1952, approximately 15,000 doctors in France and South America have been using mesotherapy, and now doctors in the U.S. are rapidly jumping on the bandwagon. In August, about 40 doctors attended the first intensive course in mesotherapy offered in the U.S. Prior to this course, presented by the International Society of Mesotherapy and the Pan American Mesotherapy Society, doctors had to travel to France to be trained.

“Spectacular” Results

One of those who did just that is Marion Shapiro, DO, a former emergency room doctor who is the director of Mesotherapy Associates PC in New York City and West Orange, N.J. Since opening her practice last year, Shapiro sees approximately 150 patients a week. Mesotherapy doesn’t work in approximately 5% of patients, says Shapiro, but in the other 95%, “the results are spectacular.”

Patients come to Shapiro seeking a quick fix for cellulite, spot weight reduction, or overall weight loss. The compounds injected depend upon what Shapiro is trying to treat — i.e. cellulite vs. fat — but generally include a combination of medications such as aminophylline and Novocain and plant extracts and vitamins. The compounds injected are all FDA-approved for their original use, says Shapiro. But they have not been approved specifically for mesotherapy.

According to Shapiro, mesotherapy can be used to treat everyone, from obese people who need treatment on the trunk, abdomen, buttocks, arms, and legs, as well as those who are generally thin but frustrated at dealing with stubborn fatty areas such as saddlebags or love handles. After the fat is melted, it is naturally excreted. Unlike endermologie, a noninvasive technique of treating cellulite, mesotherapy is permanent, says Shapiro, provided the patient doesn’t gain the weight back. In order to facilitate more rapid results for her patients and help them keep the weight off in the future, Shapiro gives each of her patients what she calls a “Meso Meal Plan.”

Some patients report seeing results after only the first treatment, but the majority report losing a dress size or belt notches after approximately four treatments, says Shapiro. For weight loss and/or cellulite reduction, Shapiro recommends 5 to 10 sessions; the number of injections at each session varies, from 50 to 150.

Because the injections are given with a chemical injector or “meso-gun” using a very tiny needle, patients generally report feeling no more sensation than an ant bite. The cost for each session ranges from $400 to $500. Not cheap, but as Shapiro says, “In the long run, it’s significantly less than the price of liposuction.”

Shapiro will see anyone between the ages of 18 and 70 who is in good health. Those who are on blood thinners, have blood clots or heart arrhythmia, or are pregnant or undergoing treatment for cancer, diabetes, or other significant major medical problems are not good candidates for the treatment.

Other Uses?

While Shapiro uses mesotherapy solely for weight loss and cellulite, mesotherapy has long been used in Europe and South America for a number of other conditions as well, ranging from hair loss to herpes, fibromyalgia, ankle sprains, bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and Bell’s palsy, to name a few.

Allyn Brizel, MD, medical director for the Center for Clinical Age Management in Boca Raton, Fla., attended the recent U.S. training course in mesotherapy and will soon be offering the treatment to his patients, not only for cosmetic purposes, but also for hair loss and sports-related injuries. Brizel admits, though, that mesotherapy is receiving most of its attention in the U.S. because of its weight-loss benefits. “In this country, money is made from weight loss,” he says.

According to Brizel, using mesotherapy for medical conditions as well makes sense, although he acknowledges that it is a treatment that’s not widely recognized or accepted in this country. “You’re using the same medications that you would take orally, but in injectable form,” he says, adding that when drugs are given under the skin, the dose is 10% to 20% of the normal oral dose. “If you’re going to take a medicine at all, why not take it by injection where you can take less of it?” he says.

No Evidence It Works

Not everyone is so gung-ho on the benefits of mesotherapy. Even though it was recognized in 1987 by the French Academy of Medicine as a part of traditional medicine, there have been no proven scientific benefits or merits, says Rod Rohrich, MD, president-elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and chairman of plastic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “This borders on medical experimentation,” he says. “Injecting unknown substances into someone with multiple needle sticks is almost unconscionable.”

Rohrich adds that proponents of mesotherapy say it can be used for almost anything, “but with no scientific data, this should not be done on human beings.

“This is just another fad,” Rohrich says. “It preys on the consumer who wants to look for a quick solution, but there are no shortcuts to good health.”

That’s what Leroy Young, MD, says as well. To Young, chairman of the nonsurgical procedures committee for the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, mesotherapy is nothing more than “quackery.”

“There’s just no proof that it works for any kind of fat,” he says, adding that even those doctors who are in favor of mesotherapy advise their patients to eat well and exercise more. “If you eat properly and burn more calories, then guess what? You’re going to lose the fat,” says Young.

Wendy Lewis, author of The Beauty Battle and a skin care and surgery consultant who counsels men and women in both the U.S. and the U.K. about cosmetic surgery, face and body treatments, and anti-aging issues, agrees with Rohrich and Young. “Mesotherapy is being touted as a cure for just about everything,” she says. “But there are no guidelines and nothing documented.”

Every doctor has his or her own “cocktail” of drugs, says Lewis. “My fear is that you really don’t know what they’re injecting into you.” If you do decide to go ahead with the treatment, Lewis says that it’s important to do your homework first. “You need to know what is being injected into you, what are the side effects, how many injections you’ll need, the fees … get as much information as you can up front.”

At this time, mesotherapists in the U.S. don’t have to be licensed, although efforts are under way to establish a chapter of the International Society of Mesotherapy in this country. At the moment, though, says Lewis, there is no way to qualify those who are offering the treatment. “I think it’s tricky stuff,” says Lewis. But if you want to do it, “pay attention and ask questions.”

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