New Procedure Helps Shed Pounds Without Surgery

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - If you're struggling to lose five to 15 pounds, a new procedure is designed to target that belly fat that just won't go away.

It's called Vanquish, and it requires no surgery, no anesthesia and no down time.

Allison Brooks of Pittsburgh recently tried it. After competing in gymnastics as a girl, she's now 31 and having trouble maintaining the weight she wants.

"From the time I was 16 to about the time I was 29, I was the same pants size, and I've gained about 15 pounds since then," Brooks said.

With Vanquish, she hoped to accomplish two goals:

"For me, I tend to gain most of my fat in my belly area, so maybe the loss of a pants size or 5-10 pounds would be great," she said. "[The other goal is] to use it as a jumpstart to kind of get back on track with the diet."

Physician's assistant Robin Chimile set up Allison's treatment at Aesthetic Plastic Surgery of Pittsburgh in Shadyside.

She explains what the Vanquish machine does, while it never touches the skin.

"Through radio frequency energy, it heats the tissue, the fat tissue layer, to a certain temperature and causes cell death," Chimile said.

Those dead fat cells are then naturally excreted from the body.

Brooks began her treatment on Dec. 22 and received a treatment once a week for six weeks at 45 minutes a session.

Altogether it costs $3,000. The treatment should not feel hot -- just warm, like under a tanning lamp.

Alison said the treatment was convenient and relaxing. In addition to the treatment, Brooks was instructed on how to eat healthier, told to start exercising and asked to drink lots of water.

After the six-week treatment, plus two more weeks to let it continue to work, Brooks lost nine pounds, 3 inches from her hips, 1.5 inches from her waist, and 1.5 percent body fat.

"I felt great about the results," Brooks said. "I was excited to lose as much as I did. I noticed a big change in my clothes, especially in my abdomen area."

Brooks said she did eat better and drank about three liters of water a day, but she did not exercise.
She says she's tried eating better in the past, but it didn't work like this.

"Much different," she says of the Vanquish treatment and her weight loss. "The weight comes off much faster, and for me, my problem area has always been my stomach, so that's where I lost the weight particularly. It definitely made a big impact."

Chimile says Brooks' results are average as some people lose more inches, some less.

She explains that Vanquish is designed for people who are already healthy, but have that extra layer of fat they can't get rid of through diet and exercise. It is also for people with a little more weight to lose and want to jumpstart their diet.

"You definitely see the results. In my problem area, I saw it immediately, and that kind of kept me excited to keep going to try to eat healthy," Brooks said.

She's planning to continue eating well and hopefully losing a few more pounds.

The new treatment is also becoming popular with men because you don't have to take any time off work, you can still exercise and you can't see anything on your skin that would show you're having something done.

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