Is Mesotherapy Safe And Effective For Cellulite Removal?

Cellulite and mesotherapy began being related when French physician Dr. Michel Pistor performed clinical tests on humans around the early 1950s. The procedure soon became accepted as a treatment for cellulite and mesotherapy was coined by the French media.

In 1987, the specialty practice of mesotherapy was recognized by the French Academy of Medicine.

When it comes to discussions about cellulite and mesotherapy, the issue isn't if it works but how safe it is.

Cellulite and Mesotherapy - How Is It Performed?

Although a non-surgical treatment, mesotherapy involves injections. But what a doctor or practitioner injects into a patient may vary. Possible ingredients of a meso-cocktail are:

- Vitamins
- Plant extracts
- Off label drugs approved by the FDA
- Miscellaneous homeopathic medicines

The meso-cocktail will be injected into your fat, the goal being to break up the fat cells and dissolve them. Each half-hour to hour-long session involves rapid injections. It takes around 10 treatments to get good results.

Cellulite and Mesotherapy - Is It Really FDA-Approved?

When a practitioner tells you that the FDA approved his cellulite and mesotherapy treatment, it means that some or all ingredients that go into his meso-cocktail have been approved.

The FDA has NOT approved any meso-cocktail combination, nor has it said anything about the safety or effectiveness of combining ingredients.

Besides, it isn't really the job of the FDA to regulate US doctors injecting meso-cocktails into their patients. It's the job of the medical board of each state.

Here lies the problem of cellulite and mesotherapy: Since mesotherapy generally uses off-label drugs approved by the FDA (i.e., drugs approved for uses other than cellulite reduction), it has become legal for doctors to use mesotherapy on patients.

Cellulite and Mesotherapy - Is It Really Safe?

The fact is you can't really be sure if the meso-cocktail combination being used by your doctor is safe. Four important questions surrounding cellulite and mesotherapy are difficult to answer just yet:

- What if your doctor experiments with an unsafe combination?
- What if, although you aren't allergic to the individual drugs, you react to certain drug combinations?
- What happens to your fat when it's dissolved?
- Is there a danger of the melted fat ending up in your liver?

But enough people are willing to take the risk so as to make mesotherapy a growing practice. Doctors who practice it tout impressive success rates of up to 90%. And enough Americans are willing to pay the $800-$1,500 for 6-10 sessions for what its advocates say are long-term results.