Ask Dr Lam Bee Lan – Body Treatment 101

At Ageless Medical, we have been building a repertoire of body treatment devices to help our patients attain their body goals. All of our devices for body treatments are approved by the authorities such as US FDA and Singapore health sciences authority, and are backed by clinical studies, proven to be safe and effective. Whether you are looking to fit into an outfit for a special event, or your new year resolution is to achieve a better physique or to tighten skin laxity, we would like to be able to help you and be on that journey. But which body treatment is needed and can one device do the trick? Read on to find out more about body treatments from our Medical Director – Dr Lam Bee Lan. 

Q: What is the difference between subcutaneous and visceral fat?

A: Prior to body treatments at Ageless Medical, we do a 360 degree body assessment to verify if a patient has subcutaneous or visceral fat, or both. So what is the difference between the two? Subcutaneous fat is the fat you can pinch on your waist, arms, legs or anywhere else. This fat is stored just beneath the skin. Whereas visceral fat which is the non-pinchable fat found deep within the abdominal cavity surrounding our intestines, pancreas and liver. It has been shown in many clinical studies that excessive amounts of visceral fat is closely associated with increased risks of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, high blood pressure, type II diabetes and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) for females. 

Q: How do we know if we have visceral fat?

A: Visceral fat is generally not visible except when excessive amounts accumulate in our abdominal cavity, then these visceral fats will cause our abdomen to protrude like a beer belly. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the waistline of more than 88cm for female and 102cm for a male as visceral obesity which is potentially dangerous as it causes serious health problems.Visceral fat is the more dangerous fat even though it is less visible as compared to subcutaneous fat. 

Q: Which body treatment(s) can reduce visceral fat?

A: In the past, the only way to do this was through diet and exercise, but now body treatments that can target visceral fats and help you to kick start this loss of inches from your waistline. Redustim body treatment can help to reduce visceral fat. The device is CE marked and it uses technology which emits electromagnetic waves of low frequency, which is completely painless and harmless to the human body, to penetrate deep within the abdominal cavity to stimulate the smooth muscle surrounding the internal organs to break down the fats within the fat cell wall through a process known as lipolysis. 

Q: What are smooth muscles?

A: There are two types of muscles: The smooth muscle and striated muscle. We can’t contract our smooth muscle surrounding the intestines and internal organs voluntarily; not like the way we can voluntarily contract and exercise our striated muscles such as the abdominal muscles, biceps and triceps. It is only through technology like Redustim, that we can stimulate our smooth muscle surrounding our internal organs to burn off the visceral fat.

Q: What about reducing subcutaneous fat?

A: For pockets of subcutaneous fat and some skin laxity, there are many non-invasive technologies that can help. Here at Ageless Medical,  we have Trusculpt iD, CoolSculpting, and Emsculpt Neo.

Trusculpt iD

Trusculpt iD by Cutera is a US FDA-approved for non-surgical fat reduction and circumferential reduction procedures. The device emits monopolar radio frequency to selectively target fat cells and destroy up to 20% of fats within the treated area by causing fat cell death or apoptosis. The beauty of this device is that it takes only 15-min and is customizable due to its 6 applicators, targeting the whole abdominal or multiple areas of the body.

The fat cells are being destroyed by the radio frequency, causing shrinkage and death of the fat cells. The fats are then released from our body through the bloodstream and lymphatic system This technology causes fat cell death and a reduction in the number of fat cells in the treated area.

The Unique Built-in Real-time Temperature control ensures that the fat layer is uniformly heated up to 43-45 deg cel while maintaining the skin temperature above at 3-4 deg cel lower to prevent any skin burn.

CoolSculpting

Next, we have CoolSculpting. CoolSculpting is US-FDA cleared for the treatment of visible fat bulges in the submental and submandibular areas, thigh, abdomen and flank, along with bra fat, back fat, underneath the buttocks (also known as banana roll) and upper arm. It is a non-surgical and non-invasive fat reduction treatment that works effectively on stubborn fats which resists all exercising and dieting. it uses a patented technology known as Cryolipolysis or fat freeze to cause fat cell death. According to clinical studies, CoolSculpting can destroy up to 27% of fat cells in the treated areas. 

A good alternative for liposuction and a gentler approach with no downtime for eliminating fat cells underneath the skin, CoolSculpting uses a patented Cryolipolysis (Fat Freeze) that ensures safety.

CoolSculpting is based on the scientific principle of “Cryolipolysis”, a controlled cooling method in which the fat cells are frozen to levels that disrupts them, without causing injury to the skin or surrounding tissue. The crystalised fat cells are eventually eliminated by the body naturally.

The results are proven, noticeable and lasting with up to 27% of fat cells removed in the treated area each time. The remaining fat cells will become condensed and the fat layer will be reduced. The reduction of the fat layer in the specific target areas will improve your overall appearance.

One thing to note about the treatment is that there is a risk of a rare side effect known as Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia or PAH – which is a gradual development of a firmer enlargement or swelling of the treatment area, in the months following the treatment. Surgical procedures such as liposuction may be needed to remove the enlargement. 

Emsculpt Neo

A new addition of the fleet of body treatment devices is Emsculpt Neo, a new and improved version of Emsculpt to build core muscle strength while reducing fat. . Emsculpt Neo is US FDA cleared to simultaneously reduce fat and build muscles for areas such as abdomen, buttock, thighs, calves, biceps and triceps. Emsculpt Neo is the only non-invasive technology that simultaneously uses Radio frequency and HIFEM+ which stands for high intensity focused electromagnetic technology, a trademark of BTL Industries, to eliminate fats and build muscles. This results in more fat reduction and more muscle growth than any gold standard product. 

It works by firstly heating fat to temperatures that can cause fat cell death. Next, the muscles are warmed up like a warm-up before a workout. The muscles then go through supramaximal contractions that are not achievable with routine exercise. After the treatment, the fat cells are eliminated from the body through the lymphatic system and the strained muscles initiate a growth process. 

The treatment is done within 30 minutes without any down time. Optimum results are seen in 2-4 weeks after the last session and it will continue to improve weeks after. A study by the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology found that HIFEM procedure also helps to reduce visceral fat as well. It is found that visceral fat was reduced by 14% in subjects who did HIFEM procedures on the abdomen over the course of 8 sessions.

Emsculpt Neo can also be used to treat diastasis recti. Diastasis recti is a separation of the abdominal muscles. It is also referred to as abdominal separation, diastasis recti occurs when the two large vertical muscles that meet in the center of your abdomen, pull apart from their attachment point that runs down the body’s midline. It can happen to anybody but it is more common for women who are pregnant multiple times or with twin or triplets pregnancies.  So Emsulpt Neo can not only help build muscles, it can also help women who have diastasis recti by building muscle in the core.

Q: Post fat reduction there may be lax skin, what will be a suitable body treatment for this?

Exilis Ultra 360

For lax skin we have Exilis Ultra 360, a non-invasive US-FDA approved monopolar radio frequency and ultrasound skin tightening device for different skin conditions such as wrinkles, skin laxity, and excessive fat. 

This treatment is great for loose saggy skin that is a result of aging, weight loss or post body contouring. Treatment areas include the arms, chest, abdomen, love handles, bra or armpit fats, buttock, banana rolls, knees and thighs. 

Exilis Ultra 360 treatment is pain-free. The treatment is typically described to be like a hot stone massage. No numbing cream is necessary. Specialized, safe electrical energy is delivered by the Exilis Ultra 360 applicator to the skin. A grounding pad, usually placed on the patient’s back during the treatment, ensures safe delivery of the radio frequency.

During the treatment, radio frequency energy flows from the hand piece tip to the skin. With its built-in, controlled heat system, it ensures that the skin tissue is gently heated up to 40 – 42°C. 

At this temperature, the collagen is stimulated and regenerated elastin to smoothen the fine lines. With repeated sessions, there is new collagen growth, leading to improvement of skin texture, laxity and stretch marks.

Q: Can we combine these body treatments? 

Many times, we often need the combination of the devices to target both the subcutaneous fats and visceral fats to give you the best results. There is a process to attain the ideal physique. We will first need to start on fat reduction treatments to reduce unwanted fat, followed by body tightening treatments to reduce loose skin post fat reduction. Lastly, we will need to have body muscles toning treatments to build a nice and toned body.

But ultimately, we have to understand that exercising regularly and having a healthy diet is still of utmost importance for us to maintain the good results of whatever devices that we use. The holistic approach will help us to get the best of both worlds.

To find out more about our body treatments, please contact the doctor or therapist at Ageless Medical.

Ageless Medical
Tel ☎️: +65 6734 4007
WhatsApp (Call/Message) : +65 8181 0680
Email 📧: enquiry@iamageless.com.sg