What Is The Best Fat Reducing And Skin Tightening Device?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a consult scheduled with you in the next few weeks for a breast lift and removal/replacement implants. I was also wondering if you could answer some questions about the differences between Exilis, Vanquish, Venus Freeze, Cool Sculpting and I-lipo. A friend of mine has tried the I-lipo. I have read about all of them online. Hard to tell what the “best” option for a little targeted fat loss and skin tightening would be. Maybe they are all good options.

A: In today’s world of non-invasive/non-surgical body contouring, there are a number of devices that are currently available for some degree of fat loss and a little bit of skin tightening. (and I want to emphasize the phrase ‘a little’) All available devices are based on some form of penetrating energy from ultrasound, infrared, radiofrequency and thermal sources. They all claim effectiveness but whether one is better than the other can never be proven since there are no comparative clinical studies of them. I have used most of these devices and, in the properly selected patient, can offer some reasonable results. Currently we use Vanquish and Exilis for the best non-invadive body contouring results, They are best used in those patients who are never going to have surgery to those that want to give it a try with actual surgery as a final treatment if needed.