Body Sculpting

Ballantyne Medical Associates

Family Medicine & Laser Aesthetics located in Charlotte, NC

No matter how much you diet or exercise, sometimes fat sticks around in certain places on the body. The doctors at Ballantyne Medical Associates in Charlotte, North Carolina, have years of experience using advanced medical procedures to permanently eliminate stubborn pockets of fat. Contact the office to schedule a consultation when you’re ready to get the body shape you always wanted using a safe, noninvasive procedure.

Body Sculpting Q & A

What is body sculpting?

Body sculpting improves the shape of your body by removing areas of persistent fat that don’t disappear even though you’ve lost weight and follow a regular exercise routine. The various procedures for body sculpting -- lasers, radiofrequency, infrared light, and cryolipolysis -- are all noninvasive, which means they work from outside the body so you avoid surgery.

Noninvasive techniques are safe and effective, but they also limit the amount of fat that can be removed. That’s why body sculpting is used to contour your body, compared to surgical procedures like liposuction that can remove a large amount of fat.

Who is a good candidate for body sculpting?

Body sculpting is intended for people who are close to their desired body weight, or who have already reached and maintain a healthy weight but can’t lose areas of fat. The most important factor when considering body sculpting is to be sure that your expectations can be achieved with a body sculpting procedure. Your doctor at Ballantyne Medical Associates will talk with you about whether your resistant areas of fat can be adequately eliminated through noninvasive contouring.

What areas of the body are treated with body sculpting?

The most common areas of fat that are removed using noninvasive body sculpting are the abdomen, flanks (love handles), inner and outer thighs, and back. Pockets of fat in other parts of the body may also be treated, but it depends on the medical device used.

How does noninvasive body sculpting work?

No matter which type of medical device is used for body sculpting, they achieve results the same way -- they all cause lipolysis, or the breakdown of fat cells. Some methods use heat, and others use cold temperatures, but they both ultimately destroy fat cells. After the cellular waste is naturally eliminated from your body, the treated fat cells are gone for good.

What can you expect during and after treatment?

Noninvasive treatments are well-tolerated by most patients. Even if your skin is more sensitive, your doctor will ensure your comfort with numbing or cooling products. The procedure may cause mild redness, but you won’t require downtime to recover, so you can get right back to your daily activities.

Body sculpting procedures generally take 6-12 weeks to see optimal results. It takes time for fat cells to break down and to be removed through the lymph system, so the fat loss process is gradual.