This treatment injects tiny amounts of carbon dioxide just beneath the skin’s surface in an attempt to to rupture fat cells. The thought is that once the liquefied fat is carried away from the treated area (and eventually out of your body in your urine), the skin’s contour may change. I personally have not seen this used and have not seen anything in the scientific literature supporting it.
The carbon dioxide is carefully administered from a tank connected by a plastic tube to a machine that regulates the speed of the gas. Another tube links the regulator to the tiny sterilized needle that the physician holds as he or she injects the gas into the skin.
The treatment goal
Carboxytherapy supposedly helps reduce selected areas of unwanted body fat and reshape the contours of the face, neck, arms, stomach, buttocks and legs.
The Carboxytherapy Procedure
You may be given a topical anesthetic cream to numb you from the pinpricks of the needles that distribute the carbon dioxide into the skin. During Carboxytherapy, which typically lasts about 15 to 20 minutes, you’ll feel mild pressure as the gas expands the chambers holding the fat. Some people compare this pressure sensation to that of an expanding blood pressure cuff. Afterward, the treated area will feel warm for several hours and you may have some mild bruising. For greatest effectiveness, space your treatments—which may range from 6 to 12, depending on the size of the area being treated—at least a week apart.