Beware Fat Melting Injections — Not FDA Approved

Just a quick note and a pointer to a recent USA Today article on the FDA cracking down on spa use of fat-melting injections. Known as lipodissolve and also as mesotherapy, these injections are being billed as nonsurgical alternatives to traditional liposuction, however, they have not been approved by the FDA and they can be harmful.

Studies are under way now to determine the efficacy of the injection of certain bile salts under the skin and into fat to determine if fat can be safely dissolved and then absorbed by the body. I advise against the treatments — most especially when offered by unsupervised medical spas — and believe it should not be done at all until these studies are completed.

Lipodissolve and mesotherapy, which is a chemical injection, should not be confused with the SlimLipo laser treatment, which is FDA approved.