SculpSure: Revolutionary laser technology targets stubborn fat (2023)

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Connie Jean has the kind of job that’s like a workout: as a decorative painter, she goes up and down ladders and scaffolding all day. Even with regular physical activity and a healthy diet, though, the North Delta resident just couldn’t get rid of her belly fat. That changed when she tried SculpSure, a revolutionary, non-invasive laser with no downtime that permanently destroys fat cells.

“The fat was very stubborn,” says Jean, who did three 25-minute sessions on her abdomen last year at Evolution Medical and Laser in Delta. “I didn’t lose weight, but I lost inches. I travel quite a bit and have been to France twice and Vietnam since. My stomach is still flattened.”

Her situation is common: so many people have problem pockets of fat that won’t go away even with exercise and healthy eating. The first of its kind in the world, SculpSure uses the benefits of heat and laser technology to target those stubborn areas, permanently destroying fat cells without breaking the skin. Unlike older technology, there is no recovery time after a 25-minute session, meaning people can carry on with their day right afterward, whether it’s going to work, for lunch or to the gym.

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Here’s how it works: as you lie in a treatment bed, targeted laser energy heats fat cells under the skin’s surface, damaging their structural integrity. Over the following four to six weeks, those cells are processed and permanently eliminated by the body’s lymphatic system. Fat cells don’t regenerate. Treatment protocol is generally two to three treatments.

Results can be seen within six weeks, with optimal results typically at 12 weeks.

Dr. James Bond of Surrey’s City Contours can attest to the procedure’s safety and effectiveness: he has had it himself. After losing about 30 pounds a few years ago, he still had a little pad above the belt line that wouldn’t budge. He found the procedure to be quite comfortable, with cool air cycles offsetting heat from the laser and is pleased with the results. “It’s another tool for people who have lost weight and changed their lifestyle, but have struggled for a while with a little pocket of fat,” Bond says. “Once fat cells have been killed, they don’t come back.”

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Coquitlam’s Ageless Radiance MedSpa was the first in Canada to offer the treatment. SculpSure is not the same thing as CoolSculpting, which essentially creates frostbite, says MedSpa’s Dr. David Owers. “If you put a cold probe onto somebody’s arm, it freezes everything: skin, tendons, bone, everything. It’s not specific. It’s also painful.

“With a laser, you can treat vision correction by targeting the cornea, but not the retina. That’s what SculpSure is like: you get to the fat without affecting anything else,” he says. “If you can trust your eyes to a laser, you can trust a laser to do this. And you don’t have to deal with a frozen block of you after the procedure.”

SculpSure is recognized by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for the permanent removal of body fat. It can be used to target stubborn fat in the abdomen, love handles, back, thighs and under the chin.

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Dr. Brad Turner, of Delta’s Evolution Medical and Laser, emphasizes that SculpSure is intended for people who are leading an active, healthy lifestyle and eating well; it’s not a weight-loss cure. Most people will need at least two sessions, possibly three, spaced at least a month apart.

“Body contouring as an esthetic procedure is one of the biggest growing markets worldwide,” Turner says. “SculpSure technology has made it safe, affordable and easy to do for areas we treat that don’t respond well to diet and exercise, like under the chin, which is often very difficult to treat.”

Dr. Mathew Mosher describes SculpSure as a versatile complement to other cosmetic procedures, although the results may not be as dramatic as surgery. “SculpSure makes consistently incremental improvements without any downtime and without the leap of having a surgical procedure,” he says. “Having the treatments with the right expectations has had a high happiness factor.

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“It’s an exciting time for patients and providers; the technologies are improving all the time,” he adds. “SculpSure is time-efficient and, with lifestyle changes, shows success in the improvement of contours. It’s a way of tackling those areas quite simply.”

Dr. Sandy Chuang, who’s also with Evolution Medical and Laser, says clients range in age from 30 to 80 and beyond. Most read a book during the session; some feel a mild tingling sensation throughout.

She was struck by SculpSure’s ease and effectiveness. “Afterward, there’s no downtime, which is very rare for cosmetic procedures,” she says. “You will see a difference.”

For more information, visit www.sculpsure.com.

Where to find SculpSure

Dr. David Owers

Ageless Radiance MedSpa – Coquitlam

www.agelessradiancemd.com

Dr. James Bond

City Contours – Surrey

www.citycontourss.com

Drs. Brad Turner and Sandy Chuang

Evolution Medical and Laser – Delta

www.evolutionmed.ca

Dr. Mathew Mosher

YES MedSpa and Cosmetic Surgery Centre – Langley

www.yescosmeticsurgery.com/medspa/

This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of Ageless Radiance MedSpa, City Contours, Evolution Medical and Laser and YES MedSpa and Cosmetic Surgery Centre.