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Natasha Singer writes:

CONTROVERSIAL new procedures in cosmetic medicine, like genital rejuvenation or buttock implant surgery, tend to take hold on the West or East Coasts and then move inland. But, during the last two years, a procedure called lipodissolve, which uses injections of a drug compound to target unwanted fat deposits, has captured the attention of thousands of cosmetic patients in Missouri and Kansas.

“Two years ago, nobody in St. Louis had heard of it,” said Laurie Calzada, a petite blond self-help author who last year completed a series of anti-fat shots on her outer thighs and abdomen. “But now lipodissolve is practically a household word.”

Anti-fat injections are one of the most hotly debated procedures in cosmetic medicine because they are spreading faster than the science behind them. Unlike mesotherapy, a process that entails superficially injecting vitamins and other substances into the skin, lipodissolve involves deeper injections of a compound drug that is supposed to break down cells in the fatty layer under skin.