Health & Wellness

Shaping Up

by Amanda Bedgood

A new hand-held ultrasound device is killing fat cells and slimming trouble areas.

The UltraShape in action at Dr. Kevin Duplechain's office in Lafayette

The fat killer has arrived. It’s painless to you, brutal on fat and can target just the areas that like to stay put.

UltraShape, found in only two locations in the state — locally at Dr. Kevin Duplechain’s office and in another New Orleans doctor’s office — was approved for use in the U.S. after more than five years in Europe and Canada.

“It pretty much instantly kills the fat,” says Duplechain, a board-certified otolaryngologist, cosmetic and facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon.

The doctor was the first patient in his own office to try the procedure that takes less than an hour. He recommends about three treatments (although he says he’s had two and is happy with the results). Each patient, however, differs on what will give optimal results.

“This is not a weight loss device,” he says. “It’s body contouring.” While anyone can have the procedure done, the ideal candidate is one who is in shape but continues to have trouble areas.

“Some people can get down to below what they consider thin and those fat pockets don’t go away,” he says.

Enter the UltraShape. A machine that delivers ultrasound technology through a hand-held device placed on the targeted area disrupts fat cells to the point of death; in the coming days the body excretes the byproducts of that fat. He says tests have shown no spike in cholesterol levels or other issues post procedure. There is no real prep. They simply ask patients to drink more water to fatten up the cells so they burst faster.

The patient feels some warmth during the procedure, and then it’s done. A full ab treatment with three sessions runs about $2,000 plus. But, the procedure cost is malleable based on the need and amount of area a patient chooses to target.

“You can almost do body art with it,” Duplechain says. “It’s that flexible.”