Janette Saviano, a petite 35-year-old, could exercise and never lose the little pooch below her belly button. She wanted something that would take off a few stubborn extra pounds in that area, so she decided mesotherapy was worth a try since the treatment is often used for spot reduction.
Mesotherapy was developed in France in 1952 and is said to be an alternative to liposuction. The procedure involves hundreds of injections with a tiny needle and a cocktail that is injected into the middle layer of the skin enabling patients to lose weight by excreting fat in waste. The cocktail Saviano received at Dr. Greg Alouf’s office of Alouf Aesthetics was designed to help her lose weight five times faster.
Alouf says the procedure can be used to treat cellulite, burn fat and even as a treatment for skin pain. Mesotherapy can even be used on the face. The facial procedure, called mesoglow, uses the same idea and injects what Alouf calls a “vitamin cocktail” which plumps up and heals the skin while also helping to regain elasticity lost with age.
Alouf’s office uses a very precise way of injecting the cocktail during mesotherapy, he says. When training for the mesotherapy in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, he had the procedure done with the gun tool and by hand on his own body to test it out. The outcome, he says, was obvious. “The gun was less painful.”
Although it may sound scary, the mesotherapy gun has never scared any patients, Alouf says. Alouf’s top-of-the-line model cost around $4,500, and patients, he says, are impressed with the technology.
“When I use the gun, it increases my accuracy,” he says.
Alouf uses this type of gun to perform the injections on Saviano’s target area, her lower abdomen. The gun works like a nail gun, except with a needle, Saviano says, adding that the procedure was a little painful for her.
“He had to tell me funny stories to distract me,” says Saviano. Ice was used to numb the area before the injections, and Saviano said the procedure was bearable.
With the procedure, Alouf offers a complimentary treatment using a Triactive Cellulite Laser which would normally cost $150, but with mesotherapy, it’s free. Saviano’s favorite part of the treatment is this special massage.
“It feels like a real massage,” she says.
The massage on her belly is designed to help her excrete the fat she wants to lose. The Italian laser is said to reduce 27 percent of cellulite.
Although warned about the bruising after the procedure, the soreness took Saviano a little by surprise.
“I didn’t expect to have this much,” she says. “I’m so puffed up I can’t even touch my belly,” she said soon after her mesotherapy. Her first treatment was Aug. 22 and three weeks later in September, she’s still a little sensitive to the touch.
But, there’s no gain without a little pain, and Saviano has lost five pounds since the first treatment. She admits her eating habits haven’t exactly been helpful and has discontinued the procedure at this time until she decides to change those eating habits.
“I was just spinning the wheels overeating and then going for the meso,” Saviano says. But, even without healthy eating habits and exercise, her size 7 pants have still become a little looser.
