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Managing Expectations With Zerona

 

When it comes to this non-surgical light therapy treatment, understanding what to expect is critical.

Many patients find it hard to believe that they could actually lose fat and inches without having surgery. Zerona is a low level laser therapy (LLLT) device that offers just that. Some have bashed the treatment as ineffective, but as Dr. Walter Tom, a cosmetic surgeon in Napa, CA describes, it's all about being clear with patients about what results they can reasonably expect with Zerona.

"I think the big advantage of Zerona is that is non-surgical," says Dr. Tom. "I have actually had Zerona myself so I'm a patient of Zerona. The beauty of it is that you come in three times a weeks for two weeks; you lie under this disco light like laser system. No pain is involved, and after a 40 minute treatment you walk out and you carry on with your daily routine. So that's the major advantage. I am a big proponent of laser liposuction as the first surgeon to introduce it to northern California, and I'm very passionate about laser liposuction contouring. But for some patients who want absolutely no down time, this is a nice technique that will allow them to be able to lose some weight and to get some contouring."

zerona before and after photos
Actual Zerona results of Dr. Walter Tom
Lost 3 lbs, 1 3/4" around flanks


It's important to understand how Zerona actually works and what effect it has on your fat. As Dr. Tom describes, "The way that I look at Zerona; Zerona's concept is that through this laser system, which almost seems magical, that's placed on the skin - usually on the abdomen and the back area - that causes our fat cells to become leaky, and as these fat cells become leaky, the fat leaches out of the cells and is carried away by our lymphatic system, our circulation system, to our liver and to our kidneys and then we excrete it in our stool or our urine."

Dr. Tom also says that it's important to know that the fat isn't lost in any specific area, but that there is a more systematic effect. "You're going to see more of a generalized loss of fat volume so for instance on me, I'm a relatively thin fellow. I'm six foot tall and I weigh around 180 pounds, but I lost an inch and three quarters around my muffin top region and I lost an 1" and 1/4" around my belly button. Now because I'm relatively thin, I only lost maybe a 1/4" or 1/2" around my thighs. I play a lot of ice hockey so I don't have a lot of fat there, but interestingly enough what people can't believe - that you can actually lose weight in other areas - I lost 1/2" in my neck. My shirts are actually looser now, and we didn't shine the Zerona laser light in that area; it was all aimed around my mid section. So you do get more of a generalized weight loss in my opinion and it's not going to spot reduce an area."
zerona before and after photos
Actual Zerona results of Dr. Walter Tom
Lost 3 lbs, 1 3/4" around flanks


You should also bear in mind that when you hear of patients losing a lot of inches, these are nearly always a total of the inches lost from all over the body. "We've had people who have had wonderful results; 9 inches, and when we talk about 9 inches we're measuring them at the belly button region, around the muffin top area, the thighs, the chest area, in the neck and the arms, but still - 9" is a lot of volume, a lot of circumference, so these patients are very happy."

Dr. Tom says that Zerona can be a great way to jumpstart a weight loss plan. "I'm going to tell patients that they can expect 3 to 5 pounds to come off in the first two weeks. I'm going to tell them that they may lose about an inch in the waistline - an inch in the waistline is pretty significant, and hopefully you're going to even do more if you follow our guidelines of increasing your activity somewhat, trying to be on a lower fat diet, drinking lots of fluids. I think that they can really find those kind of dramatic results to a decrease in the size of their pants, that's number 1. Number 2 is that they actually are going to lose some poundage and number 3, their cloths are going to fit them better."

By managing his patient's expectations, Dr. Tom has had some very satisfied patients. "I would say that probably 50% of our patients would say 'I'm really pleased, this has been great.' I believe another 25% of the patients would say 'you know I've got some pretty nice results.' Of course hope rings eternal, we all want it to do magical things for us, so those patients would like to have seen more but they're pleased. Probably another 25% are thinking to themselves, 'I'm not sure whether that was worth it or not.' So somebody who is looking at spending a couple thousand dollars is saying to themselves, 'well 25% chance that I might not be happy.' Here's the thing, the company actually wants to stand by its product, so if a patient does not lose more that 3" of total circumference - and we would go over that with our patients, our consultations are complimentary. If they do not lose more that 3" then they will get another series of Zerona treatments at no charge to the patient."