“Treatments are short, usually 30-45 minutes, and require no anesthesia or downtime; thus they have gained the nickname “lunchtime lipo.”

In today’s world, you can take pills to lose weight, and wear an outfit to burn calories; you can get fat sucked out of you at one spot, and stuck back in you at another.

But a new plastic surgery craze is making loosing those love handles even easier: lipo-dissolve shots; injections that are gaining popularity in the lower Midwest, in cities like St. Louis.

The first clinic, Advance Lipo Dissolve Center opened in May 2006, in Kansas City, Mo., and performed more than 400 procedures during its first week. The injections are being marketed as an easier form of liposuction.

The treatments are short, usually 30-45 minutes, and require no anesthesia or downtime; thus they have gained the nickname “lunchtime lipo,” says the Kansas City Business Journal. Side effects include mild bruising, soreness and swelling, and usually they dissipate within four to seven days of the procedure.

The Washington Post reported that many officials of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Dermatologic Sciences and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery are skeptical; they say there is no convincing evidence that the procedure is safe or effective.

Lipo-dissolve usually consists of two chemicals: phosphatidylcholine, derived from soybeans, and sodium deoxycholate, a salt bile that helps with waste removal.

The treatment formula is not approved or regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and is prepared in compounding pharmacies that are subject to little, if any, regulation.

During a treatment session, a doctor or nurse practitioner will inject the lipo-dissolve into up to three areas.

Patients usually have anywhere from one to four sessions, ranging from four to eight weeks apart. Treatment sessions can run anywhere from $300 to $600 each, depending on the clinic, type and amount of treatment used, etc.

Since it is considered entirely cosmetic, the procedure is not covered by any insurance companies. Some clinics, like Fig., offer patients payment plans to make the treatment more manageable.

The treatments are not an end to fat removal. If a patient gains weight, the fat will return. Clinics that perform these procedures typically suggest a healthy diet and exercise program in combination with lipo-dissolve.

In March 2007, the Advance Lipo Dissolve Center changed its name to Fig. (short for Figure, a term used to describe the human body and also in medical books to refer to photographs or illustrations).

Fig. has 16 clinics in cities across the country, in cities such as Orange Beach, Cal., Houston, Texas, and Atlanta, Ga., with more locations coming soon. Since 2006, Fig. has performed over 85,000 lipo-dissolve procedures.

None of the Milwaukee area plastic surgery clinics that were contacted currently offer lipo-dissolve treatments, nor are they discussing offering the treatment in the near future. The nearest clinic that offers lipo-dissolve is at the Skin Deep Medical Spa in Chicago and Glenview, Ill.

While lipo-dissolve providers ensure customers that the injections are perfectly safe, there have been no comprehensive studies on the long-term effects of the treatment.

Only time will tell if lipo-dissolve is the real deal or just another ridiculous fad.

> Comments