When the device first came off, her skin was red and raw. It looked like there was a frozen stick of butter stuffed under her flesh…

Such “body contouring’’ is one of the latest trends in dermatology, aimed at getting rid of small pockets of fat without the pain, price, or recovery time of liposuction or other weight-loss surgery. But also without their dramatic results…

Research on the devices, which is generally paid for by the companies that make them, suggests that the techniques are safe, with results lasting for at least six months. In one study funded by UltraShape, its device shaved about 1.5 inches total from the abdomen, flanks, thighs, knees and male breast area — or the thickness of a few dimes from each region.

“If you told a plastic surgeon who did a lot of liposuction that you had a device that was going to remove three dimes, they’d smirk at you,’’ said Dr. Steve Jacobson, a plastic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “That’s not a profound change.’’

Boston Globe, by Karen Weintraub, 3/29/2010

Tags: body contouring, Dr. Steve Jacobson, Plastic Surgery, Plastic Surgery