A well-established medication now is being administered here as a nonsurgical alternative to liposuction.


Laser & Vein Center PLLC, a physician-owned Coeur dAlene company that does business as Reflections Med Spas, earlier this month began offering the alternative, called Lipo Dissolve.


This is a good medical way to dissolve smaller-sized fat deposits in the body, says Dr. John Lundeby, a general surgeon who owns Reflections Med Spas with Dr. Kevin Johnson.


Johnson says its more common for women to elect to receive Lipo Dissolve, but both men and women can receive the treatment.


The treatment involves making a series of injections of the medication into a fat deposit. Lundeby says the number of injections ranges from six to 20, depending on the size of the fat deposit. A patient typically receives six sets of injections over the course of 12 weeks in order to eliminate the deposit, he says, though smaller areas might be dissolved with fewer treatments. The cost of a series of treatments ranges from $400 to $2,000, he says.


Dr. Debra Kontny, a general surgeon who also practices at Reflections Med Spas, says, The beauty of it is that the medication is formulated of compounds normally found in the body, so its natural components that are being injected.


The medication is made up largely of phosphatidylcholine and deoxycholate, natural compounds that act essentially as emulsifiers and detergents within the body, working in a persons intestines, for example, to break up fat in digested food.


In the Lipo Dissolve treatment procedure, the medication essentially breaks down fat to a point at which it can be processed through the liver or kidneys and excreted from the body. Lundeby says the injections are given in two-week intervals to give the medication a proper amount of time to interact with the fat.


Areas of the body commonly treated with Lipo Dissolve include the lower abdomen, outer thighs, hips, buttocks, and the lower sides of the back, where deposits commonly referred to as love handles can be visible. Parts of the face that can be treated include under the eyes, the nasolabial fold on each side of the nose, and where a double chin can occur.


Johnson says the treatment isnt a weight-loss alternative and isnt aimed at patients who are morbidly obese. Generally, he says, a patient should have a body-mass index score of less than 30 to be a candidate for the treatment. A person with a BMI score of 30 or more is considered to be obese.


Also, a patient wouldnt be a candidate for the Lipo Dissolve treatment if they suffer from arthritis, bleeding disorders, liver disease, or kidney disease, Kontny says.


Lundeby says that generally speaking, Lipo Dissolve can be used in any instance in which liposuction could be used. He says the treatment causes some temporary swelling and discomfort, but liposuction typically causes more severe swelling and some bruising.


With either procedure, he says, once the fat cells are gone, a patient wont gain much weight, if any, in that area. He says theres a possibility of gaining a small amount of fat in a treated area, because neither procedure gets rid of all fat cells.


The medication used in Lipo Dissolve has been around for about 50 years. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration five decades ago for use in getting rid of fat deposits around a persons eyes.


One of the components in the medication, phosphatidylcholine, also is used intravenously to treat whats called fat emboli, in which fat gets into a persons bloodstream after a compound fracture or some other trauma, Kontny says. An oral version of the same component sometimes is given to reduce cholesterol.


The other component, deoxycholate, is used in the dissolution of gallstones, Johnson says.


Use of the compound that includes both drugs as an alternative to liposuction has emerged during the past three years. Lundeby says he, Johnson, and Kontny received training from physicians who operate a practice in Overland Park, Kan., that was among the first to use the compound as a liposuction alternative.


Johnson says the Lipo Dissolve treatment shouldnt be confused with a treatment called mesotherapy, which involves injecting a cocktail of medications and vitamins into the skin for weight loss or cellulite reduction. He says the components used in mesotherapy treatments can vary dramatically, and that treatment has drawn criticism within the medical community in recent years.


Lundeby and Johnson started Reflections Med Spas, located at 608 Northwest Blvd. in Coeur dAlene, in March 2004 and brought Kontny on board earlier this year. The three physicians also operate Lake City Surgeons, a general surgery practice, out of that office.


Contact Linn Parish at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at linnp@spokanejournal.com.