PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Had enough of that double chin?
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new technique that melts away the fat. KOIN 6 News spoke with the only doctor in the Northwest who is performing the procedure.
Dr. Roger Dailey works at Portland’s Casey Eye Institute. He has been using fillers, like Botox, on patients since 1984.
In April, he started treating patients with Kybella. The FDA approved the injection for adults with moderate or severe fat below the chin known as submental fat. Last year, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery found 68% of people are bothered by their double chins.
We met a patient named Lulu. While she didn’t want to share her full name, she was willing to let us record the procedure she was having done for the first time.
“I’m nervous because I’m not doing any numbing,” Lulu explained. The 46-year-old is allergic to anesthesia used by some patients to help dull the pain. A full course of treatment involves multiple injections – in Lulu’s case, it was 16.
The drug is a synthetic form of deoxycholic acid. Dr. Dailey said it is naturally produced by the body and helps absorb fats. It destroys fat cells by breaking down the cell membrane, sometimes making the results permanent.
“Prior to this, their option was to have liposuction, and I think people see that as invasive, expensive, maybe some down time they don’t want to take,” Dr. Dailey said.
Patients typically need 2 treatments, which can cost $2,500 in total – half of what neck liposuction can cost. Each session lasts less than 30 minutes.
“Most people can go right back to work either that day or the next day,” Dr. Dailey said. “They’ll have some swelling in the neck, but they can go about their business.”
The product won’t tighten your skin and it shouldn’t be injected into any other part of your body.
“It’s very low pain for the benefit you get,” Lulu said.
Every year, people spend a billion dollars on cosmetic facial injections like Botox and fillers. They may not have discovered the fountain of youth, but if you ask Lulu, Kybella comes close.
“I think anything new like that, that’s minimally invasive, is fascinating rather than waiting until you’ve got 3 chins and you have to have really drastic surgery,” Lulu said.
The doctor reports his other patients’ pain levels have been less than 3 on a scale of 1-10. Besides swelling, other side effects can be numbness, redness and hardness.