The Food and Drug Administration has put out a strong statement about a widely-used type of cosmetic procedure called Lipodissolve which is often used as an alternative to true liposuction. These “fat melting” injections are often offered in medical spas and are regularly advertised as being able to dissolve or destroy small deposits of fat in the arms, legs and even midsection.

The FDA sent out warning letters to at least five medical spas for using unapproved drugs that have not been scientifically proven to be safe or actually “melt” fat as they are advertised. None of the medical spas were in New York or New Jersey, though the Monarch MedSpa of King of Prussia, PA and the Medical Cosmetic Enhancements medical spa of Chevy Chase, MD are close enough to have New Jersey and New York clients. The drugs in question are usually a mix different chemicals including PC (phosphatidylcholine), DC (sodium dioxycholate) and even Infasurf, a breathing medication used with premature infants.

The FDA has been under increased pressure to begin cracking down on medical spas and their various claims and advertisements for products and procedures that seem to good to be true. In this case the idea of using a simple chemical injection to melt away fat in the body was advertised as safe and without side effects, though the Food and Drug Administration has reports that there may be complications with the procedure.

In addition to warning various medical spas across the United States, the FDA also warned against buying lipodissolve products from the zipmed.net and mesoone.com websites.

Remember: a board certified plastic surgeon has many years of schooling and formalized medical training. Don’t trust your body to someone who isn’t qualified and if a claim about a miracle beauty drug sounds too good to be true it probably is.