What is Mesotherapy?

Mesotherapy is a new medical science in the United States but it is not new to Europe where it was discovered by the late Dr. Michael Pistor more than 51 years ago. Mesotherapy is not a technique, but technique is part of this medical specialty. According to Dr. Pistor, by definition, Mesotherapy is what he termed "surgical medicine" because it is the practice of placing medications by injection directly into the skin at the site of pathology or condition being treated. The term "Mesotherapy" derives its name from two words: meso and therapy. Meso refers to the embryonic tissue (mesoderm) which gives rise to the connective tissues of the body. Thus, the area of the dermis (skin) where the injections are placed is the mesoderm or middle layer of the skin. Mesotherapists describe their specialty as treating the "middle tissues" since meso also refers to the middle. Therapy refers to the type of treatment. With Mesotherapy, the therapy is the injections.

Dr. Pistor believed "A little in the right place is enough." Including this statement into the definition of Mesotherapy refers to the benefits of Mesotherapy as compared to traditional methods of treatment. Historically, medications are most often given orally. Oral medication has to be metabolized by the digestive tract to be transported into the blood where it then travels systemically throughout the body. Giving medications orally may require higher doses of the medication because by the time the medication reaches the target area, it has been broken down many times due to the action of metabolism. There is also a risk of side effects, drug to drug interaction, and the possibility of an adequate dose not reaching the target tissues when certain medications are given orally, not to mention the toxic effects some medications can have on the liver.

It was Dr. Pistor's hope that Mesotherapy would become popular and accepted in the United States. Today, his dream is being realized, as the medical benefits of Mesotherapy are becoming known in America.

Modern science has been able to explain the underlying physiology of Mesotherapy. Quite simply, Mesotherapy effectively utilizes the dermal circulation. Dermal circulation is known as redundant circulation. With this type of circulation the vessels of the dermis (skin) can be thought of as a complex maze that is difficult to navigate. Once medication is injected into the dermis, it will affect the target tissue. However, due to the redundancy in circulation, once the injected medications get into circulation, they will stay for several hours and sometimes as long as a week. Additionally, there are many little pores in the blood vessels of the skin which permit solutions to diffuse in and out.

Initially, Dr. Pistor's discovery of using minute amounts of medication at the site of concern was only used for treating pain-related conditions but it later progressed to treating a variety of medical conditions. Eventually, Dr. Pistor began treating aesthetic conditions such as cellulite and weight loss. As Dr. Pistor's discovery spread, a new medical specialty grew around Mesotherapy. Today, the same pharmaceutical companies that produce medications for use in the United States make injectable variations of their medication for Mesotherapy in Europe.

In the last 15 years, the French Society of Medicine formally recognized Mesotherapy as a legitimate medical specialty. Today, there are more than 15 countries with known Mesotherapy societies and there is also an international society of Mesotherapy. In regards to medical publications, there is a large body of literature in French, Portuguese and Spanish. In the United States, Mesotherapy is in its infancy but this exciting field of medicine is rapidly growing.

The benefits of Mesotherapy are numerous. There are many applications for Mesotherapy for treating pain, sports injuries, rheumatology, general medicine and aesthetic medicine.

Mesotherapy has long been a preventive/anti-aging treatment in France with patients beginning their treatments in their late twenties to maintain healthy, vibrant skin throughout their lives.

Even with all of its wonderful benefits, Dr.Rothenberg tells his patients that Mesotherapy is not the magical formula to all of our fat concerns. He states, "It is a very effective treatment when used in combination with eating a healthy diet and following a good exercise program that includes aerobic training, resistance training and flexibility training."