Body Sculpting | Fat Reduction Treatment Options

Body Sculpting, also known as body contouring, refers to cosmetic procedures that improve the shape and appearance of the body. While body sculpting includes skin tightening or muscle building procedures, most people associate the term with fat reduction. Read on to learn more and discover which treatment option is best for your body.

Types of Body Sculpting Procedures

Cosmetic treatments can sculpt the body by eliminating stubborn fat cells that resist diet and exercise. In the realm of fat reduction, there are two types of body sculpting treatments: surgical and non-surgical. For surgical fat reduction, there is liposuction. For non-surgical fat reduction, there are numerous treatment options. These include CoolSculpting, Sculpsure, Ultrashape, truSculpt, Vanquish, and more.

Long-lasting Results

All fat reduction treatments work off the same principle. They eliminate fat cells from the body. Removing these fat cells leads to a slimmer appearance and a more sculpted looking physique. These fat reduction treatments deliver long-lasting, if not permanent, results.

The adult body has a set number of fat cells. When a person gains weight, the body does not create more fat cells. It merely expands existing fat cells to accommodate more fat. Likewise, the body does not replace fat cells when they are damaged or removed from the body. Furthermore, once fat cells are removed from the body, they cannot grow back. Therefore, eliminating fat cells is an effective way to reduce stubborn bulges permanently.

Liposuction Vs Non-invasive Fat Reduction

Compared to non-invasive fat reduction, liposuction is more invasive but more effective. It is ideal for individuals who can afford cosmetic surgery and whose situation permits them to take off work for the lengthy recovery.

Non-invasive fat reduction removes less fat but does so without any surgery or downtime. It is ideal for healthy adults who suffer from isolated pockets of fat that resist diet and exercise. Such bulges include belly fat, love handles, thigh fat, double chins, etc. Non-invasive fat reduction treatments are ideal for the busy individual that cannot accommodate lengthy downtimes, or the man or woman wishing to address a specific “problem area” without surgery.

Fat Reduction With Liposuction

Liposuction is the most popular treatment for reducing fat. This method manually removes fat from the body using a cannula (hollow tube.) Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery performed by a surgeon under general anesthesia. During the procedure, the surgeon makes an incision with a scalpel. The cannula is inserted through the incision. The hollow tube has a sharp point which the surgeon uses to break up the fatty tissue. Once broken up, the cannula suctions the fat out of the body.

Non-invasive Fat Reduction

Non-invasive fat reduction treatments remove stubborn fat cells using a less invasive approach than traditional liposuction. These procedures disrupt fat cells using external energy. This may be cold energy, heat energy, ultrasound energy, or radiofrequency. The one exception is Kybella, a cosmetic injection that uses an acid to dissolve fat cells beneath the chin.

Fat cells have delicate membranes. They are far more fragile than the cells that make up our skin and tissues. Therefore, energy that does not harm the skin may damage a fat cell. Unlike liposuction, which manually removes fat cells from the body, non-invasive fat reduction treatments utilize a more natural approach. After exposing underlying fat cells to disrupting energy, the fat cells become damaged. They are unable to perform their function of storing fat. This destruction flags the fat cells for removal. Over several weeks, the body’s lymphatic system collects the destroyed fat cells. Eventually, they are filtered through the kidneys and excreted from the body in the form of waste.

Different Types of Non-invasive Fat Reduction

There are many options for non-invasive fat reduction. They differ in the type of energy utilized to disrupt the fat cells. They also slightly diverge from one another in treatment time, body sculpting cost, procedural discomfort, side effects, and the time it takes to see results. Learn about the different non-surgical options to discover which fat reduction treatment is right for you.

Cold Energy: Coolsculpting

CoolSculpting is the most popular non-surgical fat reduction treatment. It utilizes advanced cooling technology to induce cryolipolysis. Broken down, “cryo” means cold-induced, “lipo” refers to fat cells, and “lysis” relates to cell death and removal.

CoolSculpting is the only FDA cleared treatment for freezing fat cells to death.

See body sculpting before and after images of real CoolSculpting patients >>

Fat Reduction With Heat Energy

Fat reduction treatments using heat employ lasers to destroy fat cells using thermal energy. These treatments may also be referred to as “laser lipo.” The most popular laser lipolysis treatment is SculpSure. Zerona is another laser-based fat reduction treatment.

Fat Reduction With Ultrasound Energy

Body sculpting treatments using ultrasound energy depend on mechanical vibrations to break down fat cells. Of the various treatment options, ultrasound is the most time-intensive procedure. The most popular fat reduction treatment using ultrasonic energy is UltraShape. Doctors agree that treatments using ultrasound are less effective than heat or cold-based therapies.

Fat Reduction Using Radio Frequency

Fat reductions treatments such as truSculpt and Vanquish use Radiofrequency (RF) to destroy fat cells. The RF energy heats the water within the fat cells, disrupting the cell, and leading to its destruction.

The Winner:

Cold and heat-based therapies, such as CoolSculpting and SculpSure, typically yield the best results. Between the two, most physicians and consumers alike choose CoolSculpting because it has been proven on the market longer than SculpSure and is backed up by more scientific evidence.

Body Sculpting Near Me

The most effective way to determine which body sculpting treatment is best for you is to schedule a FREE consultation with the fat reduction expert, Dr. Julia Edelman MD, FACOG, NCMP of New England Center for Body Sculpting. Dr. Edelman will assess your situation and listen to your aesthetic goals to help you discover which treatment is most likely to deliver the slim, sculpted physique you desire. Contact the New England Center for Body Sculpting online or call 508 947-2852 to schedule.