Chances are if you're a woman past puberty, you have cellulite. The ironic part of the cellulite on a woman's body is that it is actually normal to have some degree of cellulite vs. having none at all. According to Mohs surgeon and Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr. Misbah Khan, 98% of all women have some form of cellulite: dimpling, uneven texture, or fat. At Sadick Dermatology in New York, NY, Dr. Khan has combined a series of procedures that may eliminate the appearance of cellulite permanently: Body by MK.
Actual Body by MK Cellulite Reduction Results of Dr. Misbah Khan, MD
Post Procedure: 45 Days
From creams to cosmetic procedures cellulite reduction is a $12 million industry and depending on how mild or severe your cellulite is - there may be a treatment that can help. TV shows and commercials are always claiming new cures and treatments for cellulite, and many of these work, at least to make cellulite less visible. In fact, The Doctors recently discussed an "at-home" device called the Wellbox that temporarily reduces the appearance of cellulite.
"For patients at their perfect body weight who may have only mild symptoms of cellulite, for example just the dimpling effect, it is not necessary to perform an invasive type of procedure," states Dr. Khan, "There are simple office procedures that may relieve those dimples for a long-lasting effect."
The non-invasive techniques that are available to reduce the appearance of cellulite include VelaShape, SmoothShapes, or Endermologie. These types of devices typically include low level heat or laser energy, radio-frequency, plus a massaging component to improve the texture of the skin. According to Dr. Khan, "Depending on the patients existing cellulite and how bulky their legs may be, a series of 8-12 treatments may be needed. After the initial series, the patient can return on a monthly or yearly basis for maintenance, depending on how much improvement they desire."
Another treatment for cellulite reduction is subcision, which may also be used to treat acne scarring. Subcision is a minimally invasive procedure performed under local anesthesia in which a tiny needle is inserted under the skin to break down any dimpling, causing the skin the bounce back. Dr. Khan says patients can expect a recovery time of a week and there may be some bruising but once healed, the appearance of the dimpling should be greatly minimized.
However, for patients who are heavier and for those who may have more severe cases of cellulite, Dr. Khan has combined a series of procedures called Body by MK to offer a permanent solution to cellulite. A combination of tumescent liposuction using vibrational cannulas, subcision and fat-melting laser treatments offer patients a minimally invasive solution to their cellulite woes.
Actual Body by MK Cellulite Reduction Results of Dr. Misbah Khan, MD
Post Procedure: 45 Days
The four step procedure first involves tumescent liposuction combined with power-assisted vibrational cannulas to debulk the area. The entire area is numbed with tumescent fluid and deep fat is removed from beneath the area with cellulite. "If you do liposuction very superficially, you're going to make cellulite worse than what you started off with. The key is to perform the liposuction first at a deeper level so you are contouring from the inside out."
The next step, Dr. Khan uses a vibrational cannula device, to break up all the septa that are holding the pockets and contributing to the dimpling effect on the surface. After which, subcision can be performed to further decrease the effect of dimpling.
For the last step in the procedure, Dr. Khan inserts a laser fiber right under the surface of the skin to heat up the infrastructure of the skin. Utilizing a laser lipolysis device typically used to melt fat, such as SmartLipo, Dr. Khan uses the laser at an extremely low level as to only smooth out the skin. "We insert the laser fiber into the skin through a 1 ? 2 millimeter incision and we heat right beneath the surface of the skin. When the skin heals from that little bit of heat, it heals in the form of a much more uniform and a smoother architecture - resulting in skin that is very smooth on the surface."
Post treatment, the patient must wear a special extremely tight garment which cannot be removed for the next 24 hours. Patients can expect some leakage of the tumescent fluid during this period as well. After the garment is removed, the patent must wear a prescription compression stocking which conforms the body into the new shape for the next 6 weeks. Dr. Khan says, "The compression stocking serves many purposes; most importantly, it helps reduce swelling and bruising and patients are able to be up and about in a 3-4 days without anyone knowing you've had anything done since there is no bulky garment involved."
Patients can expect to be quite sore for the first 24 hours post treatment but Dr. Khan encourages patients who have undergone Body by MK to return to their exercise regimes as soon as they feel comfortable with doing so. "The more aerobic exercise the patient performs post procedure, the more quickly the swelling goes down faster and it heals," states Dr. Khan, "It's actually a very positive thing for patients because without the excess fat, what is left and evident are muscles that when toned after the surgery, will reveal a body they've always desired."
Dr. Misbah Khan, MD
