Kybella has grown in popularity in recent years as one of the most popular treatments for patients that have a double chin. Kybella injections target submental fat which is the fat pocket under the chin. The treatment uses deoxycholic acid, aka ATX-101, which is an FDA-approved injectable drug that contours and improves the appearance of a double chin due to fat deposits in the area. In other words, Kybella dissolves the membranes that line the fat cells and the fat is then expelled by the body.
A Low Number for Kybella
According to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), injections performed to dissolve fat were the least popular minimally invasive treatment performed by facial plastic surgeons in 2017. In addition, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) said out of the 17.5-million surgical and minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures performed in America in 2017, only 62,587 were Kybella while the number of liposuction procedures and other non-invasive fat reduction procedures like CoolSculpting were more than double the number of Kybella treatments.
Comparisons to Surgical Methods
When Kybella was first introduced, it was accompanied by a marketing message that tried to position it as a rival for surgical methods of fat removal such as liposuction. While many injectables minimize the movement of muscles to stop the skin from creasing while also restoring volume lost with age, Kybella was often compared to an actual surgical procedure.
However, many doctors started to wonder if the benefits of Kybella were worth the amount of downtime they saw in patients following the treatment. A dose of Kybella can require 20-40-50 jabs to the area being targeted while Botox can accomplish its intended goals with only one or two pricks of a needle. In addition, Kybella can cause large amounts of swelling and soreness following a treatment.
Plus, the comparisons to surgical fat removal methods are not accurate since Kybella needs multiple treatments to achieve the desired results. Surgical methods such as liposuction normally require only one treatment to achieve the results desired by the patient.
The Biggest Complaint
The most frequent complaint that many doctors voice about Kybella is the unpredictable nature of the treatment. Will it take two treatments or six treatments to achieve the results the patient wants to see?
There are some doctors who say the unpredictable nature of the drug is due to the fact that Kybella requires the body to do a good portion of the work when it comes to breaking up fat cells as well as clearing them out of the body and contracting the skin. Liposuction is a surgical procedure and the use of a cannula is what helps clear the fat from the targeted area of the body. Since each patient is different, and the way the body reacts to a medical procedure depends on the individual person, there is no way to know exactly how their body will react and respond to the Kybella treatment.
Is There a Magic Number?
As mentioned above, there is no set number for the amount of treatments needed to achieve the desired amount of fat removal. Plus, patients must pay for each treatment separately so the cost of Kybella continues to grow per injection. This means that a person might not have a definitive answer to the final cost of the treatment until all of the injections have been completed.
Ballooning after Treatment
Another primary complaint among patients is the amount of “ballooning” they see after the treatment. When something happens inside the body, such as the inside of a fat cell being on the outside after a cell wall is dissolved, the body responds in the same manner as it does when it is injured. In other words, a healing process begins which results in the part of the body that is being treated by Kybella becoming inflamed.
It should be noted that areas that are treated with less Kybella do see less amounts of inflammation. Either way, the final results after the inflammation goes down is a tighter jawline thanks to the collagen production initiated by the treatment.
Other Risks and Complications
When it comes to Kybella treatments, patients can also expect numbness, bruising, burning, tightness and (occasionally) difficulty swallowing.
It is the Decision of the Patient
While Kybella does work, the results are not as instantly viewed as the results from liposuction. It is up to the patient to make the final decision about undergoing Kybella and if the results they want are worth waiting longer to see than the results after liposuction.
MA
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