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Hey everyone!
If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I have been dealing with insecurities about my weight. Granted, I am not morbidly overweight but living in a world (or more specifically in Asia) where size matters greatly has undoubtedly given me undue pressure to be thin. Hence despite weighing a healthy 55kg by BMI standards, I am dissatisfied with my relatively bigger body frame, especially my upper arms which I have been trying all means and ways (without costing a fortune) to tone. I have used various slimming products (as you might have seen from the myriads of reviews I have done) and results were pretty much futile.
Seeing how my resolution to lose those jiggly arms has failed year after year, I almost wanted to give up.. until a beam of hope came knocking in the form of Rexults Clinic. Just a few days before the Lunar New Year, I was at the premier medical aesthetics clinic located at Orchard Road to try out their services. At that time I was so overwhelmingly occupied with my final-year project and work commitments that I had to be really selective in who I choose to work with (reviewing is a lot of work). Furthermore, past unsuccessful slimming attempts had lent me a slight sense of scepticism – I didn’t want to promise to promote something that may not do for me. But hopping over to their website, I was immensely impressed by their level of professionalism and transparency. Not only are the credentials of the doctors explicitly stated, but the prices (which many beauty companies I’ve worked with are very reluctant to publicise) for every treatment are listed there as well! The information certainly reassured me that I would be in good hands. Needless to say, their website was the deciding factor for me 😉
Rexults Clinic Patient Care Managers provide excellent service that is extremely professional (photo credit: Rexults Clinic)
That professionalism stretches far beyond their website and into their spacious, spick-and-span clinic on the 17th storey of Tong Building. The ladies behind the front counter greeted me with much gusto when I entered and served me biscuits and a cup of hot tea at the waiting bay while I waited for the doctor. Probably noticing how hungry I was (had gone there without breakfast), they offered to replenish my biscuits and tea! Talk about awesome customer service!
Overseeing Takashimaya from where I was!
Curtain around every table to protect the privacy of customers!
Rexults Clinic (formerly known as EPW Laser + Medical Aesthetics Clinic) is the sweat and blood of Dr EP Wong who has more than 30 years of experience as a medical aesthetics doctor. Dr. Wong has built a following of patients from Singapore and around the region (Indonesia, Cambodia, Brunei and Malaysia) due to his reputation for effective skin correction for 23 years – helping people to clear acne, oil bumps, pigmentation and address skin ageing. Many of his patients have continuously been seeing Dr. Wong since his foray into medical aesthetics in 1993.
Dr Melvin Tan
Restoring the confidence of troubled patients alongside Dr Wong is Dr Melvin Tan who also happens to be my designated doctor. He is known for his individual tailored combination treatments for his patients because he doesn’t believe in one-size-fits-all approach. For instance, he customises treatments to cater to different pain threshold and downtime preference. When he learnt that I was more concerned about my flabby arms than my tummy, he recommended me to try Liposonix even though it’s more widely used for the latter.
Liposonix is one of the treatments offered under the clinic’s Body Perfecta Programme. It is a non-invasive high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedure which breaks down fat cells instead of minimising them (which in that case may expand again once you stop watching your diet) and hence very suitable for patients with smaller, more stubborn areas of adipose tissue (fat) that will not shift with healthy eating and exercise (omg, that’s me). The ultrasound energy heats the deep fatty tissue and breaks it down, without damaging the surrounding and overlying tissue.
After each treatment, a circumferential reduction of 2.5 cm at the waist can be expected after 90 days. This is approximately one dress size less in females, and one belt notch less in males.
NOTE: It is not suitable for those who have less than 1cm depth of fat in the area to be treated or have a BMI of more than 30. In addition, it is not suitable for those who are pregnant, have a blood clotting disorder, a history of cancer and related onditions or cardiovascular devices fitted – e.g. Pacemaker. [source]
I opted for the treatment to be done on the same day I had my consultation with Dr Tan so I didn’t have to make a second trip. Once changed into the clinic gown, I was brought into the resting room to fill my stomach with more biscuits and drinks before popping some pills meant to prevent any nausea. All these were done two hours before the procedure were carried out on me to allow ample time for the medication to take effect. I wasn’t prepared to wait so I didn’t have anything to keep me busy in the meantime.
Resting room equipped with a TV and a nice, comfy couch. What’s more, a nice view of Orchard Road! The colour scheme of this room is absolutely therapeutic too. May consider going for similar look and feel when I get my own house teehee!
On top of the clinic attire that I was required to change into, I also had to wear disposable bathroom slippers!
Friendly clinic assistant running through the health screening questions with me
Had a cuppa hot Milo and lemon puff biscuits before taking some pills
More tea!
To further illustrate the clinic’s professionalism, everything there is done in a very systematic manner and to top it all off, the rooms were also designed to serve a particular purpose. Apart from the usual consultation and treatment rooms, there is also a miniature photography studio (solely for photo-taking) where I had pictures of my arms taken for the clinic’s documentation purposes.
Where can I get that lighting equipment? They made my makeup look so good!
Adjacent to the photography studio is a massive treatment room surrounded by full-length tinted windows to cut out harsh light. The station where my weight and arm measurements were taken is tucked at a corner.
This room makes the claustrophobe in me so happy!
The station where my measurements were taken
Weighing myself
My dominant writing hand is thicker in circumference than the other
At Rexults Clinic, you can be assured that all procedures, regardless of how insignificant it may seem, are performed only by a qualified doctor. Prior to my Liposonix treatment, my arms were marked up and numbered in a grid pattern with a non-permanent marker pen to clearly indicate the targeted area. Dr Tan then proceeded to place the head of the Liposonix machine on each individual square, starting from the uppermost area of the arm. Each individual square was treated thrice during the procedure.
Liposonix system
Getting ready to be “zapped”!
Arms marked up and numbered in a grid pattern with a non-permanent marker pen
Liposonix procedure
At a push of a button on the machine, energy is released into the surrounding tissue. Painless at first, the burning and prickly sensation intensified as the machine moved towards the end of the upper arm where there were lesser fats. The third zap usually hurt the most because the heat felt like it was penetrating into my bones! Thankfully the discomfort lasted barely for three seconds so it was still very bearable.
According to the studies on Liposonix, the destroyed fat cells at the treated area are reabsorbed by the body over the following 12 weeks after the treatment is completed. Maximum results are expected to be observed in 8 to 12 weeks and as long as additional weight is not gained (through healthy eating and regular exercise), the fat cells will not return to the treated area. Moreover, since only a small area of fat is being treated, the amount of fat being destroyed and liquefied will not be enough to create a sagging of the skin!
Despite being warned that my arms would look red and might feel tender with some swelling or bruising after the treatment, I experienced none of it, save for some slight tingling sensation akin to muscle aches during the next couple of days. I could still work out (although not advisable by the doctor) with no issue at all so I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry because that could also mean that the treatment didn’t work for me. But as time passed, my upper arms began to feel a lot tighter and even my boyfriend had noticed improvement in the size of my arms.
Right arm
Left arm
I went back to the clinic a few days ago (about a month after the treatment) for a quick review and indeed, my arms had shrunk according to the latest measurements. My left and right arms shed 1cm and 0.6cm of flab respectively. What a pleasant surprise! I had honestly thought the reverse would happen knowing that I had lost control of my diet during the Chinese New Year period 😆 Further, bearing in mind that the maximum effect of Liposonix can only be observed after 12 weeks, I really did not expect to see results after merely four weeks? Incredible!
Of course, Liposonix is just one of the many treatments and programmes available for the body at Rexults Clinic. If you would like to find out more about Liposonix or other aesthetic options and techniques, be sure to attend a free external educational talk by Dr EP Wong and Dr Melvin Tan, happening this April. Or, if you’ve been contemplating about getting an aesthetic procedure done to fix your skin or weight woes, here’s your once-in-a-blue-moon chance to consult not one, but two highly qualified doctors as they will also be taking questions from the audience.
Educational Talk:
“Be Your Best Self”Customised aesthetic options and techniques.
Attend this talk by Medical Director, Dr. EP Wong and Associate Doctor, Dr. Melvin Tan (Rexults Clinic)
Date: 2 April 2016 (Saturday)
Time: 2.00pm – 4.30pm
Venue: Rexults medSpa (302 Orchard Road #17-02 Tong Building Singapore 238862 ⋅ Beside Paragon)Registration is required. To RSVP, call +65 6235 5533.
Thanks for reading!
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