BodyTite™

BodyTite™ is suitable for most people with skin laxity and sagging that are looking to firm and contour the body, as well as eliminate some fat. Patients who have more significant fat deposits ideally need a combination of BodyTite™ with surgical liposuction (at the same time) or non-surgical body contouring procedures such as Coolsculpt™ (at different times) to achieve optimal results.

As with liposuction and Coolsculpt™, BodyTite™ should not be regarded as a “quick fix” treatment for individuals who are overweight. The best and safest results are achieved in patients who are as close to their ideal body weight as possible (body mass index or BMI of between 20 to 25kg/m²). Patients who have already optimised their diet, exercise and personal health but who continue to have localised stubborn areas of fat excess and mild to moderate skin laxity are ideal candidates.

Radio-frequency is an established energy-based treatment for skin tightening. Most RF systems, however, have been limited by their ability to deliver the RF energy effectively and safely to the target area resulting in inconsistent and often disappointing results.

Heated skin and soft tissue contract: how much they contract depends on the amount of energy (or heat) delivered. Unlike BodyTite™, other RF systems heat the skin externally (from the surface) instead of internally (sub-dermal). Since the skin is less able to withstand heat than the deeper fat and connective tissue layers, these external RF systems can only safely deliver lower levels of heat to the soft tissue and with much more limited penetration to reduce the risk of burns and scarring. This results in less effective heat delivery and consequently, less skin contraction.

With BodyTite™, RF bipolar energy is carefully directed to the area being treated, heating the site from the inside-out allowing the deeper layers to be heated to a higher temperature than the skin across a temperature gradient. This, in turn, allows for more precise treatment with significantly better body sculpting results that are long-lasting.

Liposuction treatment on its own can leave skin loose and flaccid after the fat has been removed. BodyTite™ not only helps remove excess fat deposits but simultaneously tightens skin, with immediately noticeable results. Conversely, patients who have significant skin laxity but only small areas of fat deposits would benefit from BodyTite™ alone. Patients with more extensive fat, however, would achieve greater benefit by combining BodyTite™ with traditional liposuction.

Several energy-based devices have been introduced over the years to treat skin laxity in combination with liposuction, mostly with inconsistent results. These include VASER™, SmartLipo™, SlimLipo™ and Ultrasound-assisted Lipectomy, all of which have been proposed to tighten skin but have variable effects on individual patients. BodyTite™ is an evolution of these adjunct modalities producing more consistent and significant skin tightening effects, with clinical studies showing up to 40-60% improvement. 

BodyTite™ is effective for treating skin laxity and unwanted pockets of fat (resistant to diet and exercise) in the following areas :

• Lower abdominal fat rolls
• Flanks (“love handles”)
• Outer thighs and hips (“saddlebags”)
• Inner thighs
• Post pregnancy abdominal skin laxity (“mummy tummy”)
• Arms (“bingo-wings”)
• Knees
• Necks with excess fat and laxity
• Male breasts or gynaecomastia (“moobs”)

BodyTite™ is one of the most advanced and effective minimally-invasive skin tightening and fat reduction devices available using patented radiofrequency assisted liposuction (RFAL™) technology. It is one of only a very few devices of this type to have been both approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, and CE marked in Europe.

The system has powerful and effective built-in safeguards, such as real-time measurements of skin and fat temperature so that only the correct amount of energy is delivered, impedance monitoring, and power cut-off with audible feedback for complete patient safety and comfort. Once the desired cut-off temperature is achieved for maximum contraction of the skin, the energy is switched off.

Common side effects include bruising and swelling in the treated area. Swelling can last up for several weeks but is reduced by wearing the compression garment.

The anaesthetic fluid will leak through the tiny incision holes during the first 24 hours after treatment, which is entirely normal, and dressings will be provided. These holes are only rarely sutured as they are small and usually heal very quickly on their own following the procedure with minimum scarring. Lumpiness and uneven skin in the treated area are also common but will usually resolve within the first month.

Patients may experience some numbness which is a temporary effect of the heating of the skin nerves during treatment; this usually resolves completely within 2-3 months.

There is a very small risk of infection, which is substantially minimised by the aseptic and sterile conditions used during the procedure as well as by taking antibiotics during and after the procedure. As part of the healing process, the body produces a clear fluid rich in nutrients. Occasionally, this may collect to form a seroma, which is usually self-resolving but sometimes may need to be drained as an office-based procedure.

Very occasionally, patients may develop a collection of blood (haematoma) although this is also usually self-resolving and rarely requires intervention (there may be more extensive bruising, however). The small incisions usually heal very well with tiny scars. In a few patients, these may become more obvious and lumpy (although there are potential treatments to make them less noticeable). As with any cosmetic procedure, we always strive to get as symmetrical results as possible but perfect symmetry cannot be achieved in treatments of this nature. There is also a very small risk of noticeable asymmetry, which may require a secondary procedure.  There is a very rare risk of potential injury to the bowel or organs when treating the abdomen with both liposuction and, to an even lesser extent, BodyTite™. This risk may be increased (but remains extremely small) in patients with abdominal hernias.  With the correct technique, caution and experience, however, all of these risks are kept minimal.