MESOTHERAPY

Dr Abhishek De Senior consultant, WIZDERM Skin and Hair Clinic, Kolkata Associate professor, Calcutta National Medical College 20 years in practice

Dr Abhishek De is a Dermatologist, Trichologist, and Aesthetic Consultant. After completing his post-graduation, he traveled to different countries including Singapore, Thailand, Europe, Dubai and the US to gain more experience, knowledge and expertise. He is considered as a renowned academician around the world and has published more than 40 research papers in international and national medical journals. Beyond that, he has given more than 100 lectures and taken master classes or workshops focused on lasers, botulinum toxin, fillers and other aesthetic procedures for dermatologists and plastic surgeons across countries such as the US, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Korea, and Germany.

Know more from Dr De on Mesotherapy:

Who is a good candidate for mesotherapy? How do you approach your patient to determine if this is the ideal treatment?

By mesotherapy, we actually mean a therapeutic technique, rather than a single treatment. Mesotherapy is a non-invasive, non-surgical, relatively pain-free procedure where we put various medications, nutrients, and plant extracts directly in the middle layer of skin (known as mesoderm) by repeated small pricks. In dermatology, we usually use mesotherapy for four major indications. First, to rejuvenate the facial and neck skin, commonly known as meso-lift. Second, to take care of pigmentation issues and give a smooth glowing skin – this is known as meso-glow. Third, we use meso for hair loss also. And fourth, mesotherapy is an excellent, non-surgical lunch time procedure for killing stubborn extra fat in the body especially the double chin, under-eye fat bulge, bra bulge, love handle, and cellulite.

Many of our clients have complaints that can be treated effectively by various mesotherapy. It is extremely safe for most of us. But most important is the proper diagnosis and choosing the right meso cocktail as well as the right technique. This is where one needs the help of a boardcertified dermatologist or plastic surgeon. Many a times mesotherapy can be required for multiple sessions at proper intervals. So proper counseling and setting up realistic and holistic aesthetic target is important. For example, if one who wants to get treated with meso-lipolysis, is not careful about the diet or exercise routine, the impact of mesotherapy can be less than desired.

How can best results be derived from this treatment and within what timeframe? Tell us about the technique and the number of sittings required?

The best results depend on the correct diagnosis of the problem, then setting up an appropriate and more holistic treatment regimen, choosing the most appropriate therapeutic meso-cocktail, and then delivering the medicine in the right depth. Mesotherapy is very much technique dependent as we need to give the medicine consistently at the right depth and the right intervals. There are multiple techniques of mesotherapy, like point-by-point, nappage, popular, and the tension column technique. An experienced doctor chooses the right technique of delivering the medication depending on the depth and the area of the problem. Sometimes we also combine classical mesotherapy techniques with other procedures such as microneedling, electroporation, or HIFU (high-intensity focal ultrasound) for better results. Mesotherapy may require multiple sessions, usually between four to six sessions depending upon the client’s conditions.

What is the recovery time for a patient who undergoes the mesotherapy treatment? What is the post-treatment care involved?

Mesotherapy is minimally invasive and usually does not require more than a day or two of downtime. For meso-glow and meso-lift, we usually encourage the patient to regularly use sunscreen. Heavy exercises should be avoided for a couple of days. We, give our patients serums with growth factor enrichments as a post-treatment routine. Parlor procedures including threading and waxing are restricted for three to four days.

Mesotherapy is an excellent, non-surgical lunch time procedure for killing stubborn extra fat in the body.

Any contraindications involved that one should be aware of? Also, is there anything the patient must not do after the treatment?

Mesotherapy is usually considered safe. However, people with bleeding disorders such as hemophilia, or patients who are on a blood thinner should avoid the procedure. Clients who have an active infection like fever or herpes should also postpone the session till they have recovered completely from the infection.

Which do you consider as among your most challenging as well as a successful case study for this treatment, and why?

There are many, but I will tell a couple of stories.

Asmita (name changed), who is an actress and was a long-term client of mine. She was extremely motivated and kept herself super fit with regular exercise and a healthy diet regime. She was working in the industry for the last 10 years, but just got her best breakthrough last year. However, she confessed that she was feeling less confident about the cellulite in her thighs and asked me if I can fix it in a quick time, as her schedule would start within a month in Bali. I treated her with mesotherapy with deoxycholic acid followed by Radiofrequency (Endymed Pro) skin tightening and she was all set in her new avatar.

Similar was Gargi, who was suffering from diffuse skin tanning, lack of glow, and fine wrinkles. She owns a start-up, and due to her hectic lifestyle, she could not follow a proper skincare routine. However, she was going to get married in three months, and wanted to have a good rejuvenation before her marriage just like how all girls her age would want a perfect and glowing skin. We gave her a proper skin regimen and treated her with meso-glow and meso-lightening using glutathione and hyaluronic acids for three sessions. I attended her marriage, and she was absolutely stunning.