New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) You’ve heard of liposuction, but that involves surgery. Now comes a non-surgical way of shedding that flab – ultra-contouring – which is gaining popularity in India, especially among models and socialites.
‘This concept is not so popular in India but a lot of people, especially from the media and the elite, are opting for this technique,’ Manoj Kumar, senior consultant of plastic surgery at Max Hospital, told IANS.
Unlike liposuction, where a client has to be in hospital for a few days, in the ultra-contouring, one is exposed to very intense and focused ultrasonic rays that penetrate the fat cells, shatter them and throw them away from the body through excretion.
‘Through this method, the fat cells are absorbed by the lymphatic system and then it throws them from the body through the excretion system,’ Sanjay Parashar, director of Cocoona International, a medical centre here, explained.
Dramatic weight loss can lead to loose and sagging fat, which can look awful. Sometimes even those who visit the gym regularly have some stubborn fat around their arms or stomach. Such people too can opt for the non-surgical method.
Cocoona International offers dual ultrasound technology – High Intensity Focalized Ultrasound (HIFU) and Ultrasound Massage Drainage (UMD). Parashar says these two machines help shed 2 to 3 kg weight within a week.
Parashar said: ‘HIFU has very specific frequency, low energy and depth, just to target fat cells whereas UMD has radio frequency that works on the skin and avoids sagging by draining out fat cells from the body.’
‘We try to make a package for our client that involves both techniques so they can get better results,’ he added.
A person may have to take four to six sessions of ultra-contouring for two months, which means shelling out anything between Rs.30,000 and Rs. 60,000 for an entire package.
Though sculpting has no side effects, Apollo Hospital senior cosmetic surgeon Anup Dhir says the method is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
‘To the best of my knowledge this product is not FDA-approved. The results, if any, are temporary in nature and don’t compare at all with liposuction which is time-tested and a gold standard for body correction,’ Dhir said.
Though no major precaution has to be taken while going for ultra-contouring, Kumar says one definitely has to keep a check on the calorie intake.
‘It’s not that you are going for these sessions and you have the luxury to binge. One has to ensure a negative calorie balance in the diet, which means taking a limited amount of calories – only what body requires,’ said Kumar.
(Shilpa Raina can be contacted at shilpa.r@ians.in)
