“Fat Chance” reports on the new ways to melt or dissolve body fat without surgery-via injections, laser treatment, or ultrasound. In particular, the story helps raise awareness of the potential dangers of injection lipolysis, commonly known as lipodissolve, which entails using unapproved chemical substances to melt fat. The article refutes a common sales technique of telling prospective patients that lipodissolve injections are off-label uses of FDA-approved drugs. In fact, the FDA tells Allure’s Joan Kron, there is no drug approved for injection under the skin to melt fat. The story also debunks a statement by lipodissolve marketers that no one has ever been hospitalized after having the procedure. In fact, the writer found several lipodissolve patients who had serious complications requiring hospitalization. These sources also revealed a dangerous pattern: In many cases, patients did not see a doctor at the lipodissolve clinic either before or after the treatment.
