What is Phosphatidylcholine? 

Prosphatidycholine is the chief component of soy lecithin.  One significant quality of Lecithin is the ability to break down fat.

What is it used for?

Phosphatidylcholine is medically proven to reduce cholesterol, increase metabolism and enhance liver and cellular functions.  Phosphatidylcholine has been used by physicians in many countries for the past few years as a safer alternative to surgical liposuction in fat and cellulite reduction procedures through injections, called lipotherapy.

How does lipotherapy work?

Lipotherapy has shown ability to break the bonds in fat cells.  The fat is dissolved into liquid and eliminated from the body in urine and feces.

Is lipotherapy safe? 

Phosphatidylcholine is soy based and viewed as an enzyme. Like any other injectable product, it may cause side effects or allergic reactions in some people.  Clinical experience from over 8 years of regular daily use show adverse reactions to be extremely rare.  Clinical reports from Austria give Phosphatidylcholine complete safety reports with a confirmed success rate.

Are there any other benefits with lipotherapy? 

Yes, several.  Lipotherapy injections do not destroy fat cells as with Liposuction.  New or future weight gains is accumulated evenly, unlike Liposuction where uneven “dents” in the areas where fat has been removed are common and also occur with new weight gain.  Phosphatidylcholine gives excellent results on cellulite and smoothes the ‘orange peep’ effect.  The results remain permanent unless there is new weight gain.  Clinical trials have also shown Phosphatidylcholine beings a soy enzyme, to give added vitality to patients. 

What are the side effects? 

Common side effects have been know to contain local pain, minor burning sensation for a few hours, and temporary bruising, itching and soreness may be experienced for 1-2 days and swelling of treated area for 48 hours.

Are the reports of failure? 

Yes.  In Austria, the failure rate has shown to be 8% from clinical use.  The percentage may be slightly higher from use where physicians lack knowledge of lipotherapy.  The problem is solved by applying alternate sessions of lipodissolution to loosen up the condensed fat and enable it to be eliminated.

Can the solution ”melt” other organs? 

Phosphatidylcholine has been used intravenously since the 1950’s in cardiac related illnesses to reduce cholesterol and plaque.  These procedures recommend a much higher dosage on daily treatment than which is used in fat dissolve procedures once every 14 days.   There have never been reports of any ‘melting” of organs from high dosage use of phosphatidylcholine in the past fifty years.

Have dangerous side-effects been reported from clinical use?

Patricia Rittes M.D. has performed over 26,000 clinical fat dissolve treatments and 2,000 lower eyelid blepharoplasties since 1995 with phosphatidylcholine.  Rittes reports that during this period, she has not come across one case of serious side effects apart from the know common side effects.  Tatiane Kitamura, specialist Brazilian Society of Dermatology, has also stated that over a span of 8 years ‘not one single clinical case’ revealed any dangerous reactions from lipotherapy treatment.

Are lipotherapy injections right for my patients? 

Lipotherapy injections have shown good results for minor to medium body sculpting of specific areas of the body like stomach area, upper arm, thigh, chin, hips, and so forth.  Lipotherapy has shown excellent results to smooth and even remove cellulite.  In comparison, surgical liposuction does not treat cellulite and in fact often ends up enhancing pre existing cellulite, making the cellulite more prominent.

How can lipotherapy replace Liposuction? 

The main reason for physicians to prefer lipotherapy to liposuction is patient safety and better long-term results.  However, lipotherapy is not a complete replacement for lipoplasty.  Lipotherapy treatment is suitable for small area sculptures or as an option for patients who may be sensitive to invasive procedures.  Lipotherapy has several positive aspects worthy to look into comparison with lipoplasty.

            Liposuction can cause permanent damage to fat cells and nerve damage.

            Liposuction can cause infections and bleeding, leading to death.

            Further weight gain after liposuction can appear as disproportionate.

            Permanent damage from liposuction can cause structural damage to the mesoderm that appears as cellulite, skin irregularity, or waviness of the skin surface.

            Some reports claim that liposuction causes more deaths per percentage than car accidents (one per 5,224 patients.

Excess weight loss from lipoplasty can cause shock.  None of these results are known with lipotherapy treatment even after thousands of patient cases.  Although liposuction is very safe and effective, it is a surgical procedure and can cause complications such as infections, bleeding, and nerve damage.  In addition, aesthetic complications such as skin irregularity or waviness can occur if too much fat has been removed.

The downside with lipotherapy is mainly that the results are gradual.  Lack of proper uses skills for some body types (estimated 8%) may not give expected results.

Patient who follow a diet plan devoid of refined carbohydrates can lose fat inches twice as fast as those eating excess carbohydrates.  A 30 minute walk or stationary bicycle ride daily will further speed results.

Can lipotherapy cause uneven fat loss? 

No, this has not been know with proper procedures.  Injections are to be done in small distances apart and in small doses per treatment.  This time frame between treatments, combined with the small doses per session, provide the physician the opportunity to observe and monitor effects.

What should be expected following a treatment? 

There may be a minor pain, throbbing and tenderness; bruising, swelling for 48 hours and a few nodules after 2 weeks, which will disappear.

Click here for General Information about Mesotherapy/Lipodissolve.

Click here for Pre & Post Treatment Instructions