Vanquish your fat cells away—without pain

Dr. Aivee Aguilar-Teo brings in Vanquish, the first non-contact, hands-free body contouring device on the market. This is ideal for people who do not want to do liposuction. And those who can’t lose the fat on their own no matter how much dieting or exercising they do

Do you want to lose three inches off your core without having to increase your exercise regimen or go on a diet? Or contour your body in the shape you have always dreamed it would look? Or are you frustrated that no matter how much you exercise or diet, your love handles aren’t going away?

It seems too good to be true but there it is: a treatment that can help you flush away your fat cells and all you have to do is lie down while heat is being applied on your problem areas.

During the launching of Vanquish at Aivee Aguilar-Teo MD: Skin & Laser Clinic, host Tim Yap joked that BTL Aesthetics, the European company that invented the Vanquish machine, stood for bilbil, taba and love handles — three problems that Filipinos are prone to, even those who lead reasonably healthy lifestyles.

Judy Ann Santos, looking very slim and young, said she’s tried the treatment once so far and that it was painless, quick (30 minutes) and she would like to do the recommended three to five sessions, which are spaced out between seven and 10 days.

“There’s no downtime at all,” the mother of two says. “After the treatment, you can go out and shop or do whatever you want.”

BTL Aesthetics Southeast Asia regional manager Petra Kopecka explains that Vanquish “is the first non-contact, hands-free body contouring device on the market. Unlike other non-invasive procedures, it is pain-free. It uses selective radio frequency based on impedance-tuning circuitry and Vanquish reduces fat without even touching the body.”

“The treatment causes the natural death of fat cells through heat,” adds Dr. Aivee Teo. “And the rest is expelled naturally through urine, stool or sweat. Petra explained that you can kill up to 60 percent of the fat — it doesn’t recur as long as you don’t gain weight. So this is ideal for people who do not want to do liposuction. It’s also for people who can’t lose the fat on their own no matter how much dieting or exercising they do. Let’s say you want to get rid of your love handles but you’re not that big anyway and your metabolism is so slow, so Vanquish will help them and will also help complement their own lifestyle.”

Vanguish can treat large areas with unwanted fat, such as abdomen and love handles, at once with one applicator — that’s why the procedure is short. The question, of course, is do the results last?

Aivee says, “As long as a healthy diet is followed, then patients can maintain their new figure. The only thing we ask them when they’re underdoing the treatments is to not gain weight. Vanquish is not about weight loss but about body contouring.”

 â€œIt also helps if you’re exercising,” adds Judy Ann. And how often does she exercise? “Six times a week,” she says.

Aivee says the technology for expelling fat in a non-invasive system is going to be selective heating. “You know exactly what you’re targeting without having to actually see it. You’re heating the fat without heating the skin, the muscle or other essential tissues. The most important thing is there is a nurse that supervises the procedure so you don’t apply too much heat on one area or cause injury to the skin. Our staff who do this have been properly trained.”

Her clinic got its first machine (in the main branch at Burgos Circle, BGC) in December and immediately so many people signed up for the program. Post-Christmas is the “peak,” so to speak, given Filipinos’ Christmas tradition of abundant food and feasting throughout December. “Post-Christmas is the best time to concentrate on your core. And also pre-summer.”

Aivee says that Asia Vanquish was first launched in Singapore and they got interested to offer it in Manila when it got a lot of buzz in the Hollywood scene. “It was coming out on E News and Entertainment Tonight as actors were using it. Our clinic always wants to bring new technology to the country. We’re talking about the technology more than the brand, and we do a lot of research on the technology. RF has been around for a long time and it’s being used in many other machines. What is fairly new is selective RF. The machine is smart enough to target only fat and not other tissues, and it knows exactly the depth it must go into. Plus with Vanquish, pain and time are not a factor, and the price is good because a treatment program cannot be too expensive or patients wouldn’t complete it.”

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The Vanquish treatment program is available at the main clinic of AiveeAguilar-Teo MD: The Skin and Laser Clinic, located at 2nd Floor, East Bldg., Forbestown Center, Burgos Circle, BGC. Call 403-3245, 403-1982, 828-0197; email draivee@aiveeaguilarteo.com, drz@aiveeaguilarteo.com, info@aiveeaguilarteo.com.