Melting submental Fat with Kybella

The Kythera company is creating a buzz with their new product Kybella. Kybella is an injectable agent made of Deoxycholic acid that can break down fat deposits under the chin. Kybella currently is only approved by the FDA for use in the submental region to shrink down fat deposits there. Kybella’s nitch will be as a non-surgical option to decrease the fullness patients have under the chin. Kybella will require numerous injections into the fatty deposits (10 to 20 injections) under the chin and most patients will need several treatments separated by a month or so to get adequate results. Patients with much larger thicker fat deposits will need more injections obviously.

Deoxycholic acid is a natural product made by bacteria when the metabolize cholic acid a type of bile acid. Our livers make bile acids to help us break down and absorb fats we eat in food. We naturally produce cholic acid and bacteria in our digestive systems modify cholic acid to Deoxycholic acid. Deoxycholic acid and other bile acids emulsify fats and break them down. Our own fat cells have fats in the cell membranes so injections of Kybella (Deoxycholic acid) will break down and destroy the fat cells and our body’s natural mechanisms will remove the damaged fat cells and fat released by those cells. This is how Kybella shrinks down the area of fats where it is injected. It is important to make sure the Kybella isn’t injected into non fatty tissues for it can injure nerves, vessels, or glands if injected into or next to those important structures. Kybella is a new kid on the block and will be a great addition to the other options we have to help shrink and tighten the area under the neck so people can improve those double chins.