ENDERMOLOGIE MASSAGE COMBATS CELLULITE; A CAPE GIRARDEAU PLASTIC SURGEON CHARGES NEARLY $1,000 FOR 14 TREATMENTS

Terri Baker believes in a good massage, especially one that combats cellulite.

The Cape Girardeau woman is a believer in endermologie massage, which uses a vacuum-cleaner-like device with rollers.

"It feels like a massage," she said. "It doesn't hurt."

Endermologie has become the latest weapon in the assault on cellulite.

Dr. David Deisher, a Cape Girardeau plastic surgeon, said the endermologie massage treatments improve skin tone and reduce the appearance of cellulite.

"It pulls everything up," said Deisher.

Deisher's Skin Care and Vein Center of the Midwest Physicians and Surgeons group purchased one of the $30,000 massage machines last spring.

Created by the French company LPG, the machine provides a deep massage. The patient wears a panty-hose-type body suit that allows the treatment head to glide more easily over the skin.

"The process has been around for about 10 years," said Deisher, but it has only been available in the United States for about two years.

Worried about whether the Food and Drug Administration would approve the treatment, the French firm waited for years before bringing endermologie to the United States.

As it turned out, FDA approval wasn't needed because the machine is considered a cosmetic and not a medical device.

When Deisher's group purchased the machine, there were only about 200 in operation nationwide.

Today, more than 600 are in operation nationwide, he said. Deisher's group has the only endermologie machine in this region.

A similar device was used years ago on the scars of burn victims, he said.

Deisher said cellulite occurs in the fat layer just below the skin, where fat lobes exist with vertical strands of tissue that connect the skin to its underlying muscle.

Cellulite gives a dimpling appearance to the skin.

Dimpling is caused by two main factors: the swelling of fat cells in the lobes and the contraction of vertical strands of tissue due to hormonal fluctuations or decreased circulation.

Endermologie practitioners argue that manually increasing the blood flow to the skin stimulates special enzymes that encourage fat cells to break down. The vacuuming process, they say, helps stretch the tissue.

Endermologie isn't surgery. "There is no OR or anesthesia," he said.

It doesn't replace liposuction, a surgical procedure that removes fat, Deisher said.

For patients like Baker, endermologie is more than cosmetic. Baker, who exercises regularly, said it also has helped her lose weight.

Still, it won't replace exercise and a healthy diet. "You have got to watch what you eat," she said.

Deisher said endermologie isn't designed for weight loss.

But it has become a common cosmetic procedure in some countries.

France has more than 5,000 of the massage machines. Women there regularly go for treatments. "It is almost like getting a haircut," said Deisher.

But that isn't the case in the United States. Deisher admits that Americans are skeptical of such treatments.

"Everyone raises their eyebrows," he said.

But Deisher said endermologie is just another weapon in the arsenal of plastic surgeons. "It is complementary to other aspects of cosmetic surgery."

So far, 25 to 30 patients have undergone the treatments at Deisher's office.

Most patients receive 14 treatments. Each treatment lasts 35 to 40 minutes. Patients receive the treatments once or twice a week.

Afterward, they are put on a maintenance program, which involves treatments once a month or once every three months.

At the Skin Care and Vein Center, each treatment costs $70. For 14 treatments, a patient would pay nearly $1,000 to combat cellulite.

Insurance companies won't pay for the procedure, which is viewed as strictly cosmetic.

But Deisher said it is important the treatments be directed by physicians.

The French manufacturer sells the machines to plastic surgeons and dermatologists. "It is not something they will sell to women's salons or gyms," he said.

The massage treatment isn't just for hips and thighs, said Pam Blankenship, Deisher's nurse.

"We do a the whole body from the ribs down on the front and all the way up to the back of the neck on the back," said Blankenship, who gives the treatments.

Blankenship received an endermologie massage during a training session.

She said it was relaxing. "I literally fell asleep three times during the 35-minute massage."

Deisher said some people can benefit from both endermologie and liposuction, but the massage treatments aren't for everyone. "Not everybody needs this," he said.