New fat treatment to hit market

GREENBRAE, Calif. (KGO) -- Brenda Davis is a former runner who's always stayed in shape. But at 65, she's noticed the effect of gravity in her chin area.

"I want to change this waddle and this weight that's coming from my jowls," Davis said.

Instead of surgery or liposuction, she turned to a technique that's about to hit cosmetic procedure centers around the country. At her clinic in Greenbrae, Karron Power, M.D. is mixing a solution containing a drug called deoxycolic acid, which she will inject into an area underneath Davis' chin.

"So the chemical breaks down those fat cells and once they are broken down they are removed by the body," said Power.

She says doctors have used the acid off-label in the past to help dissolve fat. Earlier this year, a drug manufacturer made headlines when it won FDA approval for a commercial version called Kybella.

Interest recently intensified when cosmetic giant Allergan jumped in, purchasing Kybella's manufacturer with plans to market it worldwide.

Power says the commercial version will require several treatments to reduce the fat in a double chin. While it's considered safe, she says there are potential side effects and the injections need to be precise.

"One issue in clinical trial was some damage or injury to the mandibular nerve that runs along the jawline," Power says.

Allergan has begun training doctors in safe placement of the injections, and Kybella is now expected to become widely available by the end of summer.

As for Brenda, she's hoping she's hoping the results from her off-label treatment will help turn back the clock.

"Just that lift, every woman wants that," she says with a smile.

Power says off label treatments for the double chin have run from $1,500 to $200. There is no word yet on what the commercial version will cost when it becomes available late this summer.

Written and produced by Tim Didion.