The October 2012 issue of Vogue reports on a new rash of body-altering treatments to deal with all your pet peeves…from muffin top to back fat.

Two leaders of the pack in innovative technology are CoolSculpting, which freezes unwanted fat cells, and Liposonix, an ultrasound device that heats fat so that it melts away. These technologies take about an hour of treatment and have very little or no recovery time. You can literally hop off the table and go back to work.

However, and listen closely, according to Vogue, “None of them (these technologies) produce the dramatic results achieved with liposuction.” In other words, liposuction is not only alive and well but Vogue says new technologies like CoolSculpting and Liposonix are to liposuction like Botox is to a brow lift. (Last year liposuction was the number one most performed cosmetic surgical procedure in the United States.)

With CoolSculpting, fat is literally sucked into a rectangular hand piece. An hour or so later, when the hand piece is removed, the fat freezes into a rectangular shape, like a stick of butter, and is then massaged back to its natural shape. The crystallized cells slowly die and are metabolized over a two to three month period. A Toronto plastic surgeon says that new attachments designed to treat smaller curved areas like the knees, inner thigh and arm wattle are coming soon.

Liposonix, on the other hand, has a smaller hand piece, which can be manipulated to treat previously marked bodily areas. This ultrasound experience, however, may be uncomfortable, but every patient responds differently and the heat can be dialed down.

The key to success with these new technologies is to know their limitations. The best patients are those who exercise regularly and eat well to begin with but can’t seem to lose the last few inches. These treatments are not good for people who are fat. A board certified doctor in an appropriate specialty can give you more information and evaluate whether these treatments will be effective for you.