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Kybella
What is Kybella?
Kybella is a synthetic deoxycholic acid. This acid occurs naturally in the body to help breakdown and absorb dietary fat. When injected to areas with unwanted fat, Kybella destroys fat cells and renders them unable to store or accumulate fat again.
Used off label, Kybella can be used almost anywhere on the body to permanently remove unwanted fat, especially for the under chin, jowl, abdomen, and bra fat areas.
Why We Love It
Kybella is a non-surgical fat emulsifier with minimal downtime compared to surgical fat reducers, so it is a much easier treatment to plan for, time-wise and budget-wise.
The beauty of Kybella is that it always works (even though the amount of treatments it takes to reach desired results varies) and most patients are great candidates for this treatment!
PATIENT EDUCATION
The active ingredient in Kybella is synthetic Deoxycholic Acid. Deoxycholic acid is a naturally-occurring molecule found in your digestive system that aids in the breakdown and absorption of dietary fat. The most popular area to treat with Kybella is under the chin or “double chin”. This is known in the medical field as the submental fat pad. Other areas that can be treated are jowls, bra fat to the front of back of the body, arms, stomach, lower back and sides (flanks), fat roll under buttocks (banana roll) and inner thighs. All areas must be assessed with a trained medical provider to decide if a patient and the area is an appropriate candidate for Kybella treatment.
How does it work? When injected into the fat beneath your skin, Kybella causes the destruction of fat cells, resulting in a noticeable reduction in the fullness to the treated area. Once the fat cells are destroyed they can no longer store or accumulate fat. Meaning this is a permanent treatment. Once you reach your desired aesthetic goal for the treatment area, further treatment is not expected.
What to expect? At each treatment, you will receive multiple small injections under your skin, and the injection process takes about 2 to 5 minutes. The exact number of injections will depend on the amount of fat you have in the treatment area and desired results. The number of treatments varies from patient to patient. Our medical providers will help determine how many treatment sessions you need based on the amount and distribution of fat to the treatment area and your personal treatment goals.
The average patient receives 2 treatments using 2-6 vials total, however, again the number of vials used and treatments needed depends on the treatment area. Treatments may be done in 4 week intervals, but it is our recommendation for our patient’s to wait 8-12 weeks between treatments. The reason being that Kybella’s most common side effect is swelling. The swelling is only noticeable to others the first 3-5 days, but overall swelling can take 4-6 weeks to subside. In order to allow your body to heal and see results begin, it is best to wait 8-12 weeks between treatments.
KYBELLA PRE/POST CARE INSTRUCTIONS
PRIOR TO YOUR APPOINTMENT
- Please schedule your appointment to allow for up to a week of potential swelling, tenderness, and bruising.
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding cannot be treated.
- Patients actively undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment cannot be treated. Patients must be in remission for 6 months to be treated.
- If you have recently used the medication Accutane, it is recommended to postpone treatment until at least 12 months after stopping the medication.
- Please inform your provider of any and all previous treatments, procedures or surgery medical conditions, medications you are taking, skin disorders, allergies, history of anaphylaxis, and any other medical problems.
- If you have an active cold sore/fever blister, canker sore or shingles you will need to postpone treatment. If you are prone to developing cold sores/fever blisters or shingles, please contact us 1 week before treatment for recommendations.
- Avoid Advil, Ibuprofen, Aleve, Aspirin, Motrin, Vitamin E, Fish Oil, St. John’s Wort, Garlic and other Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory products 5-7 days prior to treatment. Doing this will help decrease your chance of bruising. Do not stop taking any medications that have been prescribed to you without first discussing it with your prescribing provider.
- Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages 48-72 hours before treatment to reduce risk of bruising.
- Another way to reduce the chance of bruising is to start taking Bromaline and Arnica tablets 7-10 days before treatment. Take as directed on the bottle. Easily found at any pharmacy as an over the counter product.
- Tylenol will not increase the chance of bruising and is preferred for the week prior to treatment. To help with possible discomfort, you may take Tylenol one hour prior to your scheduled appointment. Do not take more than 3000mg of Tylenol in a 24 hour period.
- You may not be treated if you have a history of difficulty swallowing, nerve injury, or weakness in the lower face if you are treating your chin, jawline or cheeks.
POST YOUR APPOINTMENT
- You should expect swelling, redness, tenderness to touch and numbness. You may also experience bruising and induration. This will normally last up to 7 days. For some clients mild swelling and numbness may last up to 4 weeks. Some clients will experience numbness for longer than 4 weeks. This is expected.
- A small number of patient experience induration (from the needle posts) that result in a lump that you may feel when touching the treatment area. These are expected and will go away over 4- 6 weeks. They are usually not visible. They can be tender to touch.
- You may ice the area post treatment. Use an ice pack, but cover it in a paper towel or another thin cloth against the skin. Apply the ice pack approximately 30 seconds on, and 30 seconds off. Icing the skin in the same spot for too long can cause frostbite, hyperpigmentation and scarring. You may apply a cold compress to the area (a frozen wash cloth) for 20 minutes per hour, and you may do this hourly for the first 24 hours.
- Try to avoid participation in strenuous activity for 3 days following treatment. As it will increase swelling.
- Do not massage or manipulate the treatment area.
- Call the office immediately if you have any difficulty swallowing, discoloration of the skin, an area that is open, experience intense pain, uneven smile, facial muscle weakness or have any other concerns.
