I recently had a patient who came to see me to get lipodissolve treatments. She stated that she was a perfect candidate for it. When I asked how she knew that, she said she had been injected last month at a party at one of her friend’s spa. Out of curiosity I queried further to find out (to no surpise) that she had no idea if the person who injected her was even a doctor of any kind, she didn’t know what was injected into her, nor did she have any understanding as to how Lipodissolve therapy even worked. As it turned out she had only 4 injections across her entire stomach area.
The relative ‘ease’ of doing injection beauty treatments such as Botox, soft tissue fillers, and lipodissolve has created the concept of the spa or home party atmosphere for a girls nite out. I won’t go into the obvious, and much written about, issue of…is there a physician on the guest list? Besides the fact that these are true medical treatments that shouldn’t be done outside of a physician’s office (increased risk of complications) and it is against the code of ethics of most physicians to offer medical treatments as a prize or incentive, there is a much more significant issue that most patients/consumers miss.
These beauty treatments work best when done in the context of understanding the facial aging or body contouring process. All injectable therapies play a role in the treatment of facial aging and facial enhancment, for example, but where they fit and whether they are good for you can only be determined by sitting down with a plastic surgeon and discussing the big picture. I see lots of patients who come in for Botox, for example, but have no idea how it works and what it is really good for. Injectable fillers are the same way, they can not cure and solve all facial wrinkling issues.
The consideration of these issues brings to light the point that I am driving it…value for what you are getting. Just because you are getting a good ‘deal’ on some injectable treatment by doing it at home or in a spa setting doesn’t mean it is even what you really need. It may not even be the most appropriate type of treatment for what you want to achieve. Injectable home or spa parties miss out on one of the most important issues of any medical treatment, pre-treatment education and consideration of other treatment options. That deal you are getting may turn out to be wasted money and effort. As the old saying goes, many times you do get what you pay for.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana