Mesotherapy is a 50 year old French medical treatment with certain
cosmetic uses such as smoothing cellulite, rejuvenating skin, and dissolving
small pockets of fat.
Liposuction was invented in the late 1970's by an Italian gynecologist
to remove moderate quantities of body fat and is not indicated for
problems of cellulite.
Mesotherapy is limited in the amount of fat it can remove and it is
not beneficial to areas of significant fat accumulation.
Liposuction is designed to remove large amounts of fat.
Mesotherapy is given with "micro-needles" injections; the
patient is conscious and requires no anesthesia.
Liposuction is a surgical procedure. The patient may or may not be
placed under general anesthesia, incisions are made and metal probes
inserted to aspirate the fat.
Mesotherapy injections try to "coax" the fat out of fat
cells with the use of medications, enzymes, and amino acids. The fat
is broken up, goes into the blood stream and is excreted in the normal
body waste system. The fat cells themselves are not removed.
Liposuction removes the fat cells entirely.
With Mesotherapy, if a patient regains weight, the fat cells that were
treated simply get large again and the previously treated area regains
it's normal size.
With Liposuction, since the fat cells were removed, other areas of the
body can accumulate fat if significant weight is regained. Typically
this occurs under the upper arm, the back, and the thighs.
Mesotherapy treatments can take multiple visits to the physicians
office over the course of a number of weeks.
Liposuction is performed in a single procedure often in a hospital
setting.
Mesotherapy patients have very little or no recovery time, the patient
can be treated at lunch and return to work in the afternoon. Typically
minimal soreness and bruising to the treated area are all that occurs.
Liposuction requires several days to many weeks of recovery time often
with significant soreness and bruising. A postoperative compression
garment is often worn for a number of weeks.
Mesotherapy has minimal risks associated with it. Specifically some
minor bruising and swelling for several days.
Liposuction has a number of potential side effects associated with
it because it is a surgical procedure. These include anesthesia risks,
infection, scarring and the possibility for irregular and unsightly
results..
Mesotherapy results are very patient specific. Not all people respond
the same with those who tend to be active, and healthy responding the
best over a course of treatments.
Liposuction is more consistent since the fat is mechanically removed.
Typically larger quantities may be removed with liposuction than mesotherapy.
With this procedure, though, comes significantly greater risk.
