As the obesity problem in America continues to grow, more fat reduction options are becoming readily available for the general public. With so many choices, ranging from traditional liposuction to {!water assisted liposuction | Body-Jet} to laser lipolysis, there seems to be a different body contouring procedure for everyday of the week, plus some. How do you know which procedure is best for you? Today's Throwdown With AHB features procedures from one extreme of the spectrum: the non-invasive fat reduction procedures, Zeltiq vs. Zerona.
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Recently, American Health and Beauty spoke with Dr. Bruce McClendon of Realis Medical Spa, a Houston medspa that offers both Zeltiq and Zerona, about the differences between the two procedures. While both are non-invasive body contouring procedures and have been in the news recently, they differ greatly from each other in terms of technology and who benefits most from which treatment.
"Zeltiq is for spot reductions. It works extremely well on people who have small bulges on their abdomen, their arms, back fat, saddlebags and love handles," Dr. McClendon says, "Or for fit people who say 'Hey, I've been exercising and I just can't get rid of this last bulge here.'" The science behind Zeltiq CoolSculpting is cryolipolysis - the treatment area is suctioned between the two cooling plates in the device's hand piece. Fat cells are brought to a near freezing point and subsequently destroyed without damaging skin.
Manufactured by Erchonia, Zerona is a low level laser treatment that was originally created to assist in traditional liposuction. While the Zerona laser is aimed at one part of the body, many patients and physicians see overall inch reduction. Dr. McClendon says, "An ideal Zerona patient is someone who wants to lose inches uniformly but doesn't need skin tightening" and in general, his patients have lost 3-9 inches measured in 3 different areas.
Dr. McClendon, who also offers laser lipolysis and liposuction at his facility, says many factors come into play in deciding which non-invasive fat reduction procedure is best for his patients. The amount of fat the patient is trying to get rid of, where the fat is located and how much time and money the patient can invest are all important factors.
However, a potential game changer, different head-sizes for the Zeltiq hand piece will become available in the near future making Zeltiq an option for larger spot size (half the abdomen) and smaller spot size (chin) treatments.
