Treating the Dreaded Double Chin

The "double chin" is not an uncommon problem. A lot of people, at some point in their life find collars hard to button up or have a double chin mysteriously appear in photos.

The triangular shaped area of skin that starts at the top of our neck and follows through to our chin is typically known as the sub-mental region. If you were to use your index finger and thumb and basically pinch the area underneath your tongue you will be holding the skin of your sub-mental triangle.

Unfortunately this area also holds a layer of fat and from post puberty until later in life we have the same number of fat cells in this area. If you find yourself with one day with a double chin it’s not because there are more fat cells, they have simply grown bigger and historically this area is one of the most stubborn places reduce the appearance of fat.

Until now, there has been little to no surgical treatment options available in Australia to reduce the fat underneath the chin/jaw area. 

Injectable Fat Dissolving Treatment is a procedure similar to having anti-wrinkle injections - but through a series of tiny injections to the fat in the sub-mental area we can safely dissolve this under jaw fat.

The injectable fat dissolving treatment uses deoxycholic acid which is naturally found in our body and it’s used to help digest fat. When injected into the area under the chin the fat cells simply dissolve and with a reduced surface area the skin the tightens.

The treatment itself only takes around 20 mins but some light swelling and bruising in the area, which usually remains for several days you can notice the fat under the chin shrink over the next 4-6 weeks, while also tightening the skin.

Most patients with mild to moderate sub-mental fullness will see visible improvement of their jawline after just 2 treatments. Some may need more than 2 treatments to achieve optimal results. At CCM, we are able to perform this procedure comfortably with cool packs, and happy gas, or numbing gel if one wishes, this will depend on your own pain tolerance but generally speaking it’s not an overly painful experience

Below are before and after photos of what you could expect if you had mild to moderate submental fat which had been bothering her for many years.

If you are interested in non surgical treatment options for unwanted fat, please feel free to come in for a chat.

by Dr Silvan Lee