Dr.Olha has been intreviewed by Aesthetic Journal about her opinion on fat dissolving treatments and weigh managment in medical aesthetics practice .
Read full article
Special Feature / May 2023
Aesthetic practitioner Dr Olha Vorodukhina agrees, noting, “If a patient presents to my clinic struggling with their weight, the first thing we do is perform a consultation and advise them of any lifestyle changes that will help, like improving healthy eating and exercise.” She also recommends reducing alcohol intake and stopping smoking. She says, “This is because if we perform a treatment but they are still living unhealthily, results of the treatment will be lost and the weight could be put back on quite easily, so it’s important they are already on a regime.”
Dr Vorodukhina chooses at her clinic to offer fat dissolving injections and carboxytherapy to help treat localised fat. She notes, “If the patient is adhering to diet and exercise regimes but finds there are still stubborn areas of fat that will not budge, despite them doing all the right things we offer aesthetic treatment. This is typically on areas such as the jowls chin, abdomen or thighs.” Dr Vorodukhina explains that her clinic’s resident plastic surgeon Dr.Tracey Xu can then perform injection lipolysis with Deso Body or Deso Face injections, or she can perform carboxytherapy using carboxy therapy machine Injection lipolysis works by targeting localised excess fat pockets, with the mechanism leading to the lysis of local adipocytes, resulting in contouring.2 One study of 221 selected patients presented with various forms and degrees of localised fat showed there was a treatment success in 93.5% of cases when using intralipotherapy treatments.3 Carboxytherapy works by increasing oxygenation in the treated area, increasing circulation and stimulateing localised metabolic activity of the tissues.4 In a clinical audit of 101 women who underwent CO2 therapy for localised adiposities on the abdomen, it was found that there was a significant reduction in upper, mid, and lower abdomen circumference.5
For treating localised fat, Dr Vorodukhina explains that the decision of whether to implement carboxytherapy or fat dissolving injections for each patient depends on the area, the commitment of the patient, and the price. “Fat dissolving is for more moderate cases and takes between three to five treatments for results. Carboxytherapy, on the other hand, can take up to 20 treatments for full results, so it depends if they are willing to be patient and wait for the end result to be achieved slowly,” she says, adding, “of course, the more sessions the more expensive the treatment is, so committing to carboxytherapy might not be feasible for a lot of patients.”
//INSERT FIGURE 1// Figure 1: xx-year-old patient before and three months after fat dissolving injections. Image courtesy of Dr Tracey Xu
Dr Vorodyukhina advises that if you’re looking to implement services for weight and fat loss, you need to look at whether it might be a good idea to partner with professionals with different areas of expertise. She explains, “There are certain things that we as aesthetic practitioners might not be experts in – for example nutrition or exercise – so you will need to approach people in those fields to help. Personally, I work with a weight management coach, a personal trainer, a functional health specialist and a physiotherapist. You also need to consider extra things like whether you need someone to do the admin for that particular programme, or a call centre to be able to answer people’s questions.”
Dr Vorodukhina also has a referral pathway and utilises her own patient base to find the right people. She notes, “I work in conjunction with a dietician and personal trainer. Having this pathway in place is helpful for the people who aren’t quite ready for fat dissolving or carboxytherapy yet, as I can help them kickstart their journey using people who specialise in that area.”
Dr Vorodukhina adds that you also need to complete additional training for any new products or services and investigate what support you might get from the companies you’re considering using. She explains, “Before we implemented Deso Body and Face, for example, we spoke to a large number of colleagues who had experience with the injection and utilised their positive feedback to inform our decision. We also looked into what training and support the company offered, as it’s important to know that if you need any help or experience any complications there will be someone to guide you.” She adds that although she doesn’t personally perform fat dissolving injections as they are administered in-clinic by her colleague, she still attended the training so that she was fully equipped to recommend the treatment to her patients and provide advice.
Dr Vorodukhina says that if you can get the right treatments for your patient base, weight and fat loss support services can be an extremely rewarding route to go down. She concludes, “Weight loss and fat reduction are gaining more and more traction and there is no sign of that slowing down any time soon. I’ve noticed the personality change you can achieve by helping your patients tackle their insecurities and it’s amazing, so as long as you manage expectations and provide a rounded approach to the individual, you can get great results and make a difference. Of course, only start to implement these treatments if you feel there is a real demand from your specific demographic. If it is, I would really recommend exploring this possibility to ensure you can meet their needs.”
