I am another unhappy victim of the Zerona scam. I had absolutely no change to my measurements or weight after 6 treatments, from a high-profile "med spa" in Overland Park, Kansas. Zerona may work for some, but in my case, I believe the provider failed to follow the manufacturer's protocol. For instance, I could see the lasers moving across the wall next to the table I was on - I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure the laser was supposed to be directed at me!

I am very glad to read Kim's post about a Zerona guarantee, but when I contacted SBMI, they had no idea what I was
talking about!

Danny: What are your treatment objectives? You should know before you begin that ZERONA and all the other "body shaping" procedures are NOT designed to help "large" people lose weight. Rather they are used to "shape" areas that are typically resistant to exercise and other methods.

In order to help everyone truly evaluate the effectiveness of the Zerona treatments, it would be great if you would undergo the treatments and do nothing else different with your life during the period of time you are having the treatments done (such as dietary or exercise changes). Only then can you really be sure that it is the Zerona treatments per se that have -- hopefully -- helped you reduce circumferential measurements in certain areas, etc.

I am a physician following this!- I could not help but post my opinion.
I have found this website a very valuable resource and it has saved me from making
bad decisions when it comes to buying machines.
It is plainly obvious to me that no machine as yet can claim to come anywhere near liposuction in efficacy. It is sad to see so many posters jump in to silence experienced medical practitioners when they offer their opinion and experience. Please go away. Do not insult our intelligence and leave us to benefit from unbiased opinion of people like LH and Jeff and let them keep up the good work.

Thank you very much.

Dr. Sanjay,

Thank you for the support. I have continued to ask for longer term studies and they keep saying they are coming. I have yet to see ANY studies that go more than 2 weeks post treatment.

The argument whether Zerona works or not based on science and medical research is a joke!

Laser experts from around the world agree that the 635nm laser (that same red laser that reads bar codes in your super market check out line) cannot penetrate through the skin to cause the "holes" in the fat cells that are shown in Zerona "steakhouse" presentations. Those electron micrograph photos that are used are taken after the Zerona laser has been used directly on the skin without having to pass through the skin. For those of you interested in really non-invasive low energy treatment, iPhone has an application for facial skin rejuvenation!

The effects of Zerona, if any more than placebo, are likely from the mandatory diet, exercise, and Curva dietary supplement drink (Niacin) that are used. The same results would likely be seen without the Zerona laser if the "company" or their paid consultants did the study. Two week results are not acceptable anywhere in science.

It is sad that the public is exposed to this modern day non-science, but what is most amazing is that the paid consultants have tried to present the "steakhouse" lecture at medical scientific meetings where the physicians present are not fooled by the hype.

Anyone who wants to give Zerona a try, go right ahead, but you have been fore warned. I personally wish that Zerona was actually effective as it would certainly be a nice source of easy income for my practice. After a year of due diligence, I and other laser experts have not found it's claims to be true.

The other sad aspect of the Zerona hype is that it confuses the public by trying to compare to technologies that actually do have scientific proof by the world's experts. One such technology is cryolysis by Zeltiq, developed by Rox Anderson, MD and Dieter Manstein, MD at Mass General/ Harvard Medical School.

Sorry to have joined in this fray, but I do feel an obligation to my patients, the public, and my colleagues. Sometimes the truth hurts, but one must do onto to others as they would want others to do on to them.

Good luck and be well.

Michael A. Persky, MD, FACS
Encino, CA

Any opinions on the Zerona since the FDA approval on the efficacy of the procedure and experience with results?

Chandler: This is what the FDA said about the device--

FDA Grants Market Clearance for Erchonia’s Zerona Laser
Proven safe and effective for circumference reduction of the waist, hips and thighs

McKinney, TX August 30, 2010 – Erchonia Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer in low-level laser technology, has been granted market clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the non-invasive body contouring device, the Zerona. The Zerona is the first non-invasive aesthetic device to receive FDA market clearance in the U.S. for circumferential reduction of the waist, hips, and thighs.

The FDA granted market clearance following the completion of a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, multi-site clinical investigation evaluating sixty-seven study participants. The results obtained from that study demonstrated an average inch loss reduction of 3.65 inches across patient’s waist, hips, and thighs in as little as two weeks. The clinical trial, absent of diet restrictions, exercise requirements, or any other adjunctive components properly illustrated the clinical utility of the Zerona and set the precedent on how aesthetic devices should be evaluated.

FDA clearance for body contouring is just the latest clearance in a long line for Erchonia’s low-level laser devices having already earned FDA market clearances for breast augmentation (2008), acne (2005), liposuction (2004), and chronic pain (2001).

The Zerona emits a low-level, or cold, output energy that generates no thermal effect on the body’s tissue eliminating any risk to the patient. Zerona has been clinically proven to target fat cells causing their immediate collapse thereby significantly reducing body volume. Through a natural process of fat removal, the laser-released fat is safely removed and broken down, providing patients with a truly non-invasive procedure without side effects or downtime.

“Zerona is scientifically-proven to be both safe and effective, and this most recent FDA clearance simply validates the research supporting this application,” says Charlie Shanks, vice president of Erchonia. “Zerona’s FDA clearance makes it even more unique in the marketplace and we are excited to continue the momentum with a new, integrated marketing campaign.”

Having no predicate devices to base FDA clearance on, the Zerona had to undergo a review process called de novo, which is completed by the FDA in an average of 750 days. Erchonia submitted clinical data in August 2008 and was granted approval for safety and effectiveness nearly two years later.

I came on site to read some reviews on zerona to make a decision to purchase a package or not. So we are taking about money that I am willing (or not willing) to part with here.

From what I can read here, LH has full identity disclosed whereas others against him and in fierce defense of one particular device (Zerona) do not.

I also thought that it was funny that an Anthony & a Kim misspelt the same word "guarantee" as very uniquely "garauntee". Same person, perhaps?

My decision based on this blog is to keep my money.

From CA,
MJL

I am looking into that Zerona procedure & it does have a high failure rate. It's almost like u don't know what ur gonna get. I'm thankful for dr. LH's posts. Sounds like a good doctor to me.. I would not pay for something that is not guaranteed & just because the FDA approved it doesn't mean it's effective. Uhhh did we forget all diet pills on the market that does not work???? So I'm glad to have stumpled upon this page.. Oh & that pre - med who cares doc, let us know who u are cuz I do not want to be a patient of yours..

Very appreciative of Dr. Hanson's advice on Zerona. I've been shopping for a Zeltique, Zerona, and Ultrashape lately and spoke to a few doctors who bought these devices hoping to deliver results. I have decided to wait for a while and see whether these claims live up to patient expectation. I was one of those doctors who bought a thermage 10 years ago thinking that device would revolutionized cosmetic dermatology. Boy was I wrong as my Thermage unit sits in one of the room unused for years.

There is companys out there that does not charge thousands of dollars to do zerona. The cheapest is 800/900 for 6 -9 treatments. This is in michigan.

TO Danny Rodz
I am so glad that its people like you on this site. There seems to be many people stating things about Zerona that is only their personal believes and not because they have tried it or done a research.
I am also going to try the Zerona, in a clinic that guarantees 9 inches all over. If not I get 6 treatments for free. I only paid 800 dollars for 6 treatments. Will be posting later about my experience and my result.

Mari,

My comments are based on the science currently available. There was a recent study done by Dr. Zellickson and a few others that showed no benefit from Zerona. It was published in the journal of the Amercan Society for Lasers in Medicine and Surgery. Dr. Zellickson used to be supportive of Zerona as I talked to him about it a year or 2 ago but as you will see in the study that he has changed his mind. You will also see that every comment I have made on here about Zerona is correct.

Lornell E. Hansen II, M.D.
www.LazaDerm.com

Recently I heard about Zerona laser slimming treatments and so I thought I would take the risk and try it out.
I spent just over a $1000 and did 9 treatments and even thoe they guarantied 3" loss, it really is a total loss from approx 6 measurements down the side and around your waist. I would lose that alone with just drinking the 8 glasses of water and exercising daily. The machine didn't work at all and feel like it's a bit of a scam to be honest. The customer service has been awful, they agreed to give me free laser hair removal but want me to sign a waiver that the machine worked on me when clearly in the pictures it did not!

I'm disappointed and upset that I allowed myself to trust in Zerona.

This post has become nothing but paid Zerona reps attacking a good scientist for holding a device to professional standards. which is what we do. This is crowd bullying, replete with intentional "I'm just Joe Public!" typographical errors and "innocent bystanders" leaping in to add chorus to the marketing point. IT HAS A GURANTEE! How hideous that Zerona feels it necessary to keep coming here, reiterating its sales pitch. Not buying it. My patients deeply regret their experiences with Zerona.

Lipo is NOT risky, it is what patients seek after repeated failures with Zerona and after jumping through the fake "approval" hoops and failing to stick to the diet, which is, after all, what causes weight loss with Zerona.

If Zerona worked, it wouldn't need this much marketing and bullying. Those of you who come here paid by Zerona should feel terrible about the work you are doing. You are paid to pretend to have had success with this. You are paid to make it seem effective. You are paid to persuade people to part with hard-earned money for something that you know does not work (or you wouldn't be hired to shill for it) and confuse them by slandering their very real alternatives.

I don't know why the makers of Zerona can't just invest in something that DOES work so they do not need to engage in this much chicanery and hostility. Is it really worth a few dollars when your approach has to be based less on results than on pretend results and beating up good physicians like LH?

These stances go counter to what we in the medical profession seek to do.

This is embarrassing for Zerona. Yes, I know, "Jillian" and her band of completely unrelated buddies will now jump me. Honestly, must be nice to have so much time in med school to hang out on bulletin boards, memorize product pitches, intimately know their ins and outs, repeatedly attack a respected physician, hammer Zerona's ONE SPONSORED STUDY and come back for more and more and more. Med school used to ask a little more of us. How sad for medicine, how sad for patients.

Instead of quoting studies, we are taught to evaluate the context of their research, which here is lacking. That has been adequately pointed out by the esteemed colleagues here. Add to that the fact that unsponsored posters out there on the internet, those with as little to gain from this as the impassioned, hardworking student "Jillian," genuinely report incredibly disappointing results.

On consumer sites -- which this is not, it is supposed to be physician-to-physician -- Zerona receives terribly poor marks. Those who have had a good result from it mention that they stuck faithfully to a calorie-restricted diet. Which, yes, will cause you to lose weight. And gain it back once your motivation is gone. Very high failure rates with Zerona patients in the wild. Here, they're all about it. You have to hand it to Zerona on marketing and aggressiveness. But when marked on science and experience, it does nothing but fail.

Hit me with your best shot, paid flacks. Pose as happy patients and studious med schoolers. Beat me up like you savaged intelligent LH and his correct points. Wham on me. I am sure I have it coming what with my truth, perspective, experience and all. We can and should do better than this when we seek to serve patients. All of us. I resolve anew to do that today. I hope for the best for this profession and its integrity. Allow me to hold onto that, Zerona reps. Allow research to trump aggressive sales. In medicine, this matters. You may accept that now, or you may accept that when your loved one is in critical care. But please, accept it. For the good of medicine.

Love,
-Not Paid by Zerona

What good points, LipoPractice! I also wuz a Zerona user and it offered me a gaurnatee but all I losed was money. Sad face.

Ok, so now I have completed 12 zerona sessions!
after 6 treatments, they measured that I lost 8 inches overall...something I think is just a scam. >Because I have not noticed any different what so ever! I did nothing different than normal, I drinked normal amount of water and no more exercise than I normally do.
Now Im interested in seeing how many inches I lost after the next 6 treatments that I have completed.... :) , that they gave me for free because I complained.

Does anyone know If I can sue this Zerona company?

I think that any time people use a tape measure to measure you in multiple places and add the numbers to arrive at a large total it is usually indicative of a scam. Try measuring your own waist, thighs, etc. some time and you will see how easy it is to manipluate the measurements by tugging harder on the tape or changing the location slightly, etc. It is pretty much total BS. Their own published studies show only a very slight improvement (maybe a couple centimeters) in circumferential measurment after a series of treatments. Walk, jog, row, climb stairs, lift weights or cycle for the same amount of time you spend going to the clinic and enduring the Zerona treatments and send the money you WOULD have spent to me instead! I GUARANTEE you will loses inches in a short time!! Keep it up long term and you will have permanent improvement AND live longer and better!

I think everyone on here has regressed back to high school. Too funny!

We were also considering Zerona not a long time ago but I decided to pass because I was skeptical of the results. I have a few patients that I have been treated with this technology elsewhere and the feedback isn't good. Reading through your posts, I feel very good about my decision.

I agree with the points you cited. Zerona is most certainly on its way out. The question then becomes, what technology should we move towards to treat our patients? There is ultrasound, cryo, radio frequency....each has their goods and bads. There is an ultrasound system called VASERshape which I have seen work well and discussed with several users of which the remarks are quite positive.

We have Zerona and we obtained consistent results. Zerona shrinks the cells by emulsifying the fat within the cell and it exits the body via the lymphatic system. This is the ONLY FDA approved 2 week (6 session process) utilizing a cold laser. Along with this treatment, we encourage exercise and healthy eating habits. On average our patients are losing 8 inches and do not gain it back unless they go back to an unhealthy life style. And if it unfortunately occurs - it is even and natural.

I'm an RN and slightly ashamed of myself for believing the hype. I did the non-invasive lipo-laser paddles over a year ago & swore it worked. However, now I'm realizing that it was probably the detox supplements, 10 min hypervibe session, & add'l 30 mins of cardio they made me do after each session that probably did it. I lost 2" in my waist after 3 sessions and have kept it off (actually lost even more inches since then, after simply changing my eating habits). I decided to try zerona hoping to drop a few more inches quickly. I've completed 5 sessions so far & my measuring tape has not moved not one single fraction of an inch. I'm not taking any supplements, but still doing the 10 min hypervibe & exercising 30 mins/daily as I did prior to treatments. The only new thing I am noticing is that I'm urinating like crazy and having side-effects with my taste buds. My tongue feels weird/dry/numb & I'm having trouble tasting the flavors in food. I'm trying to figure out what the problem could be, because I know I'm not dehydrated (no other symptoms).

But I fell out laughing after reading medspaguy's last post:..."Walk, jog, row, climb stairs, lift weights or cycle for the same amount of time you spend going to the clinic and enduring the Zerona treatments and send the money you WOULD have spent to me instead! I GUARANTEE you will loses inches in a short time!!"....you couldn't have been more accurate!!! I also have to pay respect to LH, for being able to stick to objective data & his own opinions & questions based on experience. I too am someone who does not believe everything put in my face just because a gov't run organization approves it, especially when they leave a lot of questions unanswered. Working in the medical field, I've been exposed to a lot of the BS the general public is being sold just by simply leaving information out and only stating the positives.

Zerona does not work, so is Zeltiq and Ultrashape. I have spend US 120000 on ultrashape machine, ??? result, tried Coolscupltping, ??? works, may be a liittle bit better than ultrashape, what really works is still liposuction, but that involves lots more work and invasive and sedation. Get real people.

It would seem LH and med spa guy have it out for Zerona. Whatever the company does is wrong. Get FDA approval, can't trust the FDA. Do a randomized double blind study, not good enough. I have only seen several people get a Zerona treatment at a continuing ed seminar once and the people got up and showed how their pants were all loose. I was looking for information as to whether to buy one or not and stumbled upon this site. I find it interesting that some posts such as from Liposuction practice slyly label any positive remarks about Zerona as coming from paid reps. That is a very convenient way of pushing your point and attempting to discredit all positive posts. Sadly Jillian actually made some very good points and is no longer posting. I would like to get some unbiased information, yet it would seem very one sided here. It is clear that many are not fans of the Zerona here yet it is not by actual experience just purely through what is not to your liking in their research, how much treatments cost, which you can determine anyway if you own the practice and what others may be saying on other sites. I will keep looking for some unbiased information. So far on this site it would seem 50/50 from people who have actually used it. Doctors or not I am ashamed at the lack of respect used when speaking to others on this site whether they are students or public they all deserve to be treated with human decency and respect.

I am an RN not a doctor, In my experience the Zerona Laser works some times not all the time. 1/3 of the time people are ok with their results. 2/3 of the time very unimpressed with their results. At no time did I find using a Zerona laser profitable in my Med Spa or for that matter worth the grief it cause with all the unhappy customers. Most people who had results felt they were lack luster at best and felt their money would have been better spent on liposuction.

Most lasers in use for what ever purpose are always over priced and the companies over promise on their delivery and their profitability.
Not going to quote any studies here just go to the used lasers sights...see for yourself....I rest my case. No Med Spa or physician I know has ever claimed that they found the purchase of a laser was a good ROI.

Cheers RO RN

Hi,

Is the zerona laser the same thing as the LILA strawberry laser? It seems like it is. They also claim 3 inch waist loss with red cool lasers, but not sure if they measure up and down. Just trying to get rid of my lipo scars, OMG. dont do lipo :-( also FYI I did ultherapy and so far see no results