Every woman knows what cellulite is and they hate it. You see it in the thighs and buttocks and it is very difficult to treat. Ninety-five percent of what you have heard about cellulite treatment is hype and not science.

In my opinion, creams, massages and ultrasound don’t help. Also, in my opinion, treatments such as lipolysis, mesotherapy, and endermologie don’t help.

There are two procedures that do help: One is non-invasive, and the other is done together with liposuction.

• First, the non-invasive procedure is called Thermage of the thighs.
  • Energy is delivered to the deep layers of the skin, which tightens and smoothes the skin. We have seen some fairly impressive results. Thermage is extremely safe, and it takes about one and a half hours in the office. There is no anesthesia, no down time, and no scar. So, for many women, it is worth a try.(Thermage was also just approved by the FDA for tightening skin around the eyelids).
• The second procedure I call superficial micro-tunneling, and it is done together with liposuction.
  • Once all the desired fat is removed, I make many tiny tunnels just under the skin of the thighs, approaching each area from several directions. When this network just under the skin heals and contracts, the overlying skin is tightened, and cellulite is improved. This is a great approach, but it only makes sense for women who also need liposuction.

It is so unfair that men just don’t get cellulite.

I wish my patients would stop:

1. Smoking. Only dummies smoke.
2. Dieting. Diets don’t work in the long run and are very stressful. Be accepting of yourself. Some people are not designed to be skinny.
3. Sun tanning. Only dummies bake in the sun.
4. Looking for magical “non-invasive” procedures to protect their serious sagging. Operations now do come with shorter scars and quicker recovery periods, and sometimes they are the only thing that will work.