Lipo-V - New Mesotherapy on the block.

Mesotherapy is back on the block as a way to remove stubborn localized fats. Yes peeps, localized not generalized. During the last IMCAS in France in January, there was much hype about the reemergence of mesotherapy as a modality for treatment.

Fat areas and weight loss has always been an area of interest for me since I was previous really overweight and I have bulge issues. So when a friend of mine introduced this new mesotherapy line from Korea, I was skeptic but curious.

The older generation mesotherapy usually requires multiple treatments done at weekly intervals to get a good result and sustain the effect. Usually you require between 2-10 vials per area (depending on area size) and the treatments are done weekly 5-10x. The usual problems with the previous mesotherapy is bruising that can be unsightly and for double chins, it can be very tricky.

​​

Skeptic but curious, I was fortunate that they were having a mini launch and workshop to introduce this mesotherapy. The training was done in KO skin center in Klang and as many as 50 doctors attended the talk and training conducted by Dr Seo from Korea together with his colleague Mr Joseph (Korean too). 

This mesotherapy line is called Lipo-V and it comes in 2 sets. One is Lipo-V for face specially designed for double chin and to remove face fatty areas (yes, you can also sculpt those chubby cheeks). The second line is Lipo-V body which comes with an additional drainage  vial and is used for body parts.

​​

Attendees during the workshop 

The brochures and before after testimonials were pretty impressive. Dr Seo showed some of his Korean patients pictures and how he has used Lipo-V to create a more 3D less chubby look. It is not ethical to snap photos of other doctor's patients and post it on online, hence why I don't, but even for an experienced aesthetic practitioner like me, I was pretty impressed. I was also thinking of how many Malaysians can actually benefit from such treatment. What impressed me the most was the immediate effect which gets better over 3 days and the lack of bruising. Bruising is always a challenge when it comes to doing mesotherapy around the face, since patients will feel uncomfortable if they get bruises and need to hide them.

​​

With Dr Ko and the Korean team, Dr Seo, Mr Joseph and sorry but I really didn't get his name lol. 

There was a live demo session which was impressive because of the skill and speed of Dr Seo in doing the patients. There was also a demonstration of using PLLA threads in contrast to PDOs but I'll talk about them in much detail in another entry.

​​

 Of course, we definitely need to take a wefie.....

So, being the curious cat I am, I volunteered myself as a demo subject. The area of my concern is of course, the tummy. After 2 natural childbirths and gaining like 30 kilos per pregnancy, it is a big issue to tackle. The method of administration was via cannula technique, hence reduces injection points and pain. This also contributes to less bruising. They used a total of 8 vials on my whole tummy with 2 vials on the top, 2 vials on the sides and the 4 for my lower tummy area. 

Did it hurt? Well, I did feel a sharp sensation, and a little bit of acidic feel which was not entirely painful but not so comfortable either. However, since Dr Seo was very fast, it was acceptable. The problem afterwards was more related to the lidocaine content in the syringes because they actually pumped me up with 2mls X 8 syringes of 2% lidocaine which gave a total of 16 mls of 2% in one shot. I had tongue numbness and lightheadness which also made me feel a bit giddy and unsteady on my stilettoes. I drank 3 bottles of mineral to wash out the effects, and after 4 hours only my tastebuds were better. It was pretty funny because I had spicy banana leaf in Nirwana Bangsar, and I felt that it was not spicy and lacked sweetness when my kids where complaining that it was a tad too spicy. 

So I guess, my advice to the doctors is to be a bit careful with the lidocaine content. I guess anything more than 5 vials, we should cut back on the lidocaine to 1 ml instead of 2. Result wise, I think it is pretty impressive. They advised me to do RF or any high frequency device on the same area after 2-3 days. I took the liberty of taking daily photos to observe the changes. The quality is not super super excellent but you can make out the difference. The lower abdomen improved so much after 1 session, but the best would be after 3 sessions.

​​

My tummy from day 0 to day 3

I asked Mr Joseph about the longevity of the results. The results are good even up to a couple of months pertaining that you do not over eat and do regular exercise. Personally, I was happy with the results because from experience, usually I would require 2-3 sessions of mesotherapy to achieve what I achieved in 1 treatment. The combination with RF makes the results even better and I think it should be done together. The best part is the lack of bruising and soreness that you usually feel after a conventional mesotherapy treatment.

Ingredient-wise, this product is plant base thus adheres to certain sensitivities related to animal products. The best results is after 3 treatments, which is good since most mesotherapy courses take up to 10 sessions. The safety of the product? Well, because it is plant base and hypoallergenic, there is no restriction to the use of vials per session. The only thing doctors need to watch is the amount of lidocaine mixed into the solution.

Perhaps, the only setback is the cost of the treatment. 1 vial is charged at roughly RM 600 and you may need between 2-10 vials per sitting. However, you only require 3 sessions as compared to 5-10 of the normal mesotherapy. When you add it up, it is just about the same but with the results you want, and almost no downtime. Plus the mesotherapy is so safe, you can use it almost anywhere you want. As for face, you need perhaps 2-4 vials just for double chin, and to reduce cheek volume perhaps another 2-4 vials per session (because you have left and right obviously). Another interesting usage is to reduce gland swelling which is common in Asians due to high consumption of spicy foods. Depending on the doctor and technique for the face a vial will cost between RM 600-RM1000 because of the technical difficulty and clinical experience. Yes people, different doctors have different skill levels. The more experienced and well trained a doctor, the fee is usually slightly higher. (Actually we have a standard range for our professional service).

​​

I am pretty much excited about this new product especially after testing the product on myself. So, how much is it? For an introductory offer prices are as follows:

      

            Face : 6 vials at RM 3000 ( 5+1 offer)

                       12 vials at RM 5500 

                       20 vials at RM 8500

            Body : 1 set consists of 2 vials i.e. fat lipolysis and drainage which will be injected

                        together

                        10 sets at RM 5000 (NP RM 6000)

                        20 sets at RM 8000 (NP RM 12000)

                        30 sets at RM 9000 (1 box at 50% discount, NP RM 18000)

Hurry quick.... Offer ends soon. For more information or to book treatments contact us at drmmclinic@gmail.com or send a whatsapp or text to +60129660852 and we will respond soon. Not to be missed.

The sagging face....... PART 1 ( The Why?)

In my years of aesthetic practice, one of the most common complaints I have from patients is that they feel that their face is sagging. Most complain of jowls seen under the jawline making them look older. So they start consuming products to sort of enhance their collagen to improve the sagging skin but most products do not seem to work.

Before you can treat the problem, you need to understand what it is. As we age, our body undergoes a lot of changes in terms of anatomy and fat, muscle, or tissue redistribution. Here is a nice picture depicting the changes of ageing taken from The Journal of Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America.

​​

1. Thinning of hair and receding hairline.

2. Forehead rhytids and ptosis.   ----> (Forehead lines and loss of volume)

3. Glabellar Rhytidosis.    ------>  ( Also know as frown lines)

4. Brow ptosis.

5. Temple rhytidosis and ptosis.

6. Upper lid redundancy and ptosis.   -----------> (Lid droop)

7. Lateral canthal rhytidosis.    -------------> (Crow's feet)

8. Nasal root rhytidosis.       ----------------> (Bunny lines)

9. Lower lid redundancy and rhytidosis    --------------> (Under eye wrinkles)

10. Lower lid fat pseudoherniation.     ---------> (eye bags)

11. Malar bag formation.                       ---------> (eye bags)

12. Cheek rhytidosis.

13. Periauricular rhytidosis.                  

14. Nasal tip ptosis and dependency.

15. Cheek sagging and fat atrophy changes.      ----------------> (face hollowness)

16. Deepening nasolabial crease                     ---------------> (laughing lines)

17. Facial rhytidosis and sagging.                  ---------------> (cheek wrinkles and sagging)

18. Perioral rhytidosis.  --------------------------> (perioral wrinkles or smoker's line)

19. Upper lid flattening and lengthening.

20. Thinning and atrophy of the vermillion (red lip)

21. Chin pad ptosis and retraction.

22. Jowl formation  ---------------------------> (jowls or face sagging)

23. Cervical rhytidosis    ----------------------> (Neck wrinkles)

24. Submental fat accumulation   ----------------->  (double chin)

25. Platysmal banding

26 Rhytidosis and midneck hollowing

27. Submaxillary gland ptosis.

I like this diagram because it covers all the possible facial ageing signs on a persons face. Yes, it is also a very ugly picture. Most people may have only 5 or 6 on the list after a certain age, but ageing is not just chronological. It also depends on your sun exposure, your lifestyle, nutrition, genetics, etc. 

​​

 

So what was once upside down triangle face that most people regard as youth, slowly, gravity starts pulling downwards until the triangle becomes bottom down. 

This image shows a more colourful and easier diagram than the first of what happens as we age. Our eye sockets appear bigger due to reabsorption of the bone and the shifting of the fat pads to either due to prolapse or loss of volume. The prolapse seen around the eye also is related to the increase laxity of the surrounding ligaments. Bags form around the eyes develop from laxity of the tissue surrounding it. Lines form on the face from loss of volume and movements that form expressions of the face. Combined with thinned out, unhealthy skin, it can look worst in some people.

So basically, the phenomenon of sagging of the face is not as easy as taking strings and pulling it to make you look tighter. It involves a more comprehensive knowledge and practical approach to getting the best results that is suitable for you.

Usually, my approach would be to see what bother's my patient most. And from there, we decide, what is the likely cause i.e. loss of volume in the temples or malar fat pads, reduce skin elasticity due to exposures to sun, over wrinkling due to over expressions, or other reasons that contribute to the sag look that the patient is not happy with. By explaining the cause of sagging, then only can the doctor prescribe the best form of treatment to a patient and whether surgical intervention is more likely a better choice in the patient's best interest.

So is there a treatment for sagging? 

The answer is, not a single treatment but more likely a series of combined treatment treating each and every problem located above. Honestly, looking at the above diagrams, most of us would have more than 1 issue. What is more important is to sit and discuss treatment options and costs and do a proper planning of how to achieve the best results.

I will continue in my next blog on what are the treatment options available to treat the sagging face.

For more questions or appointment enquiries please email to drmmclinic@gmail.com or msg us at 0123301585, or call 0321106608.

Dermclar Liposomes - Virtual Mesotherapy

Its been awhile since I have time to actually sit and write my blog. Motherhood definitely takes the toll onto most of my time with both my girls in school, hence more attention need to be given to the sprouting young ones. Its the Chinese New Year holidays, and finally I have some time on my own.

Last January I launched a new product in my clinic called Dermclar Liposomes. This is a very unique product from Spain which requires no needle injections. Sounds interesting? Well the results are more interesting. Before I go on about this new product, let me explain a bit about mesotherapy. Mesotherapy is the practice of injecting products into the dermal or subdermal layer and involves multiple injections per site for better distribution. The common uses are for skin hydration, PRP implantation, adipocyte destruction (but injecting into the subcutaneous layer directly to the fat), tightening or even nutrient injection to correct things like pigmentation and texture. 

According to Wikipedia :

Mesotherapy (from Greek mesos, "middle", and therapy from Greek therapeia, "to treat medically") is a non-surgical cosmetic medicine treatment. Mesotherapy employs multiple injections of pharmaceutical and homeopathic medications, plant extracts, vitamins, and other ingredients into subcutaneous fat. Mesotherapy injections allegedly target adipose fat cells, apparently by inducing lipolysis, rupture and cell death among adipocytes.^[1]

Coming back to Dermclar Liposomes - It is a new technology whereas the creators have discovered a new transport system called liposomes that allows products to enter the skin deeper than just standard application and reach the dermal and subdermal layers. The results are similar to treatment with mesotherapy minus the downtime, risk of bruising or pain. And with the no needle technology, treatment around the eye areas and other sensitive areas become a lot easier.

How does this thing work again? Well, with the latest technology of liposomes, it enables the product to be carried through the skin to the subcutaneous or subdermal where it takes effect. The liposomes technically replaces injections into the skin (mesotherapy) but delivers the products to the same level hence why it is called virtual mesotherapy. A single application without using any machines shows instant results in 6 minutes. Phoebe, my friend who introduced me to this product actually did a a mock demo on my arm one day when I was sitting in the clinic - she applied the Face-Neck-Low Neck onto my left arm and there was instant tightening after 6 minutes. No machines used. So we left it at that and its been almost 4 months and people can still see a significant difference between the tightness of my left arm compared to my right arm. Gees.

But in order to get a more stable and balanced result, we recommend that the treatment be combined with their Anti-Age Radiofrequency and transdermal delivery device. We usually recommend weekly with an ampule for 5 times and this will give a stable result between 3-6 months. Using the ampules as homecare will also help prolong and maintain the results. For those who are familiar with mesotherapy, you will notice that this is same with the injections where we usually recommend weekly injections 4-8x then maintenance monthly. 

So what other ampules do they have:

Oh yeah, they thought of everything. My personal favourite would still be the face-neck-low neck for tightening since its one of my main concerns (especially arms). Now its even cooler, since they have also brought in their hand held homecare delivery device to give you an easier and more even distribution of the products.

For more information call us at 03-21440080 / 014-2233268 or email to info@faceworks-clinic.com