Medical Spas Warned about Lipodissolve

Medical spas are making big bucks on a procedure called lipodissolve, the latest fad for getting rid of unwanted fat. The procedure involves the injection directly into subcutaneous fat deposits of two active ingredients that allegedly break the bonds in the molecular form of stored fat (for more, see Human Biology 5th ed., pp. 94-95.). The active ingredients may also disrupt the cell membranes of fat cells, causing death of the cells. Goodby, fat! But does it work?

In fact, the products used in the lipodissolve procedure have never been evaluated and approved for that purpose by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The safety and efficacy of the lipodissolve procedure is unknown. So this month the FDA sent warning letters to six U.S. medical spas and to a Brazilian firm that advertises the lipodissolve procedure over the internet, warning them to stop making false or misleading statements about the products used in the procedure. The letters warned that assertions that the products used in lipodissolve are safe and effective, have an outstanding safety record, or are superior to other fat-loss procedures are unwarranted and are in violation of the federal FDA Cosmetic act. The companies must take action to correct the violations and to prevent future ones or they will face legal action.