Kybella or Chin Lipo?
With Kybella making headlines left and right as the new FDA
approved non-invasive chin fat reduction procedure all eyes are on the future
of the wattle. Before you call your
trusted cosmetic surgeon to get in line for the fat melting injections, let’s
break down the key differences between the hot new trend Kybella and old
faithful Chin liposuction.Downtime
The immediate draw of Kybella is that it is non-surgical,
but rather a series of injections. No
anesthesia, no leaking wounds, and little downtime. However what will the downtime look
like? Expect to need up to 5 rounds of
injections over a few month period. The
injections cause redness, swelling, bruising, and hardness. You will have to decide if you prefer a one
and done treatment like chin lipo, which also involves a couple weeks of
recovery or five separate appointments over the course of a few months, with
each appointment resulting in some injection reactions.
Based on the data available it seems as though you would see
your results in roughly the same timeframe.
It just depends if you would prefer multiple appointments or one big
one.Cost
According to RealSelf users, the average cost of chin
liposuction is $2,500. This does not
include side costs such as medications, compression garments, etc. The estimated cost of Kybella is $650 for 50
injections. You can expect to get up to
50 injections at up to 5 separate appointments, which costs upwards of $3,250. You may need less injections, which would
bring the cost down, but expect the cost of Kybella to be similar or more than
chin lipo.Risk
Everyone dreads needing to apply to an upcoming season of
Botched. The risks of chin lipo are what
you would expect- necrotic tissue, uneven fat removal, infection, hard lumps
leftover, etc. The risks of Kybella
include improper injection leading to tissue damage outside of the treatment
area (think skin, muscle, fascia, bone) as well as those risks related to
liposuction. Not choosing the right
doctor is a risk for any cosmetic treatment, but consider it to be a little
higher with Kybella. Because it is such
a new treatment most doctors will not have years of experience injecting
Kybella like they do with performing chin lipo. Treatment area
Kybella is approved solely for the removal of fat underneath
the chin. If you have sagging skin in
this area Kybella will not fix it, only surgical intervention will. Because chin lipo is already surgical it is
easy for a cosmetic surgeon to also tighten the loose skin at the same
time. If you have excess skin in your jowl
area you may want to remove Kybella from your short list in an effort to get
your best results possible.Still not sure which
is better for you?
Consult with a trusted facial cosmetic surgeon (or two or
three). While you may like the idea of
injections over surgery, you may not get the results you are expecting. On the other hand, you may be the perfect
candidate for Kybella.