Many women and some men have fat deposits above their knees even when their legs are not particularly heavy. This is a difficult area to improve with liposuction but Kybella has been shown to reduce this fat. Treatment is an office procedure and a legal, off-label use of Kybella.
Kybella is specifically approved by the FDA to reduce fat under the chin. Almost every approved drug has many more uses than the one or two specifically approved by the FDA. The approval process takes years and is very expensive. So once the FDA approves a drug for one use, we physicians are legally allowed to use the drug as we see fit to help you, our patients. Since Kybella specifically dissolves fat, it is now widely used to dissolve small areas of excess fat in many parts of the body; however it is expensive and does not work well for larger areas of fat.
How does Kybella work for the knees?
It dissolves the fat lying over the knee, but it will not dissolve other tissues. Sometimes what looks like fat over the knees is actually excess skin – after all, we need to bend the knee so when we stand straight we will always have some extra skin. But if there is a fat deposit under that skin, Kybella can dissolve it. We don’t inject Kybella on the sides of the knees because it can damage nerves in those areas. Nerves have a fatty outer layer called myelin. Presumably Kybella dissolves myelin if it is injected into or near a nerve. Without myelin, a nerve can’t function normally. Even though the nerve damage seems to be temporary, the nerve can take months to recover.
The Procedure
- First we mark the area of excess fat above the knee
- We lift the tissue and inject multiple small doses of Kybella into the area, (both knees can be treated at the same time).
- You will feel severe pain for 2-3 minutes.
- Then the injected area will be sore and will start to swell.
- You may need a pain pill to sleep the day of your treatment. You may bruised and the knee will be visibly swollen. Visible swelling can last several weeks.
- You wait six weeks to see the final result. Although walking is fine, you probably won’t want to run or bike for the first week or two after the injection.
- You will need at least two treatments – and you may need more if you have a lot of fat over your knees.
This is a really nice treatment for those of us with excess fat in this once difficult to treat area.
Think this might be for you? Just call us at 404.941-3200 or email us at [email protected]. We would love to help you!