Kybella is a cytolytic (fat dissolving) drug indicated for removal of submental fat (double chin) in adults. Kybella is approved for the patients 18 years and older and it is okay to use Kybella in patients who are on blood thinners. It involves minimal discomfort.
I do inject lidocaine before the procedure, then I have the patient tense the platysmal muscle, I pinch the fat, and I inject the fat with a 30-guage needle with 0.2 cc each time. The injections are spaced approximately 1 cm apart until all the sites in the planned treatment areas have been injected. You can receive up to 50 injections or 10 cc may be injected in a single treatment. Up to six single treatments may be administered at intervals no less than one month apart.
There is a risk of marginal mandibular nerve injury; however, this is prevented by no injections within a region defined by areas above the inferior border of the mandible or 1 cm to 1.5 cm below the inferior border from the angle of the mandible to the mentum. All marginal mandibular nerve injuries reported from the trials did resolve spontaneously with a median of 44 days.
Two well‑conducted studies did demonstrate that Kybella is very effective. It did involved 514 patients, who had treatment, 508 were placebo. There was physician, patient, and MRI evaluation. The study was done by McDiarmid and others in the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Journal. The MRI results did show that 45% of the patients treated had 10% or more reduction of the submental fat and only 5% in the placebo group. The Kybella before and after photographs on the website are outstanding and we have seen excellent results with that in the office.
