Take A Look At Me Now

While it is true that most friends are chosen, it’s rare that friends are chosen at random. It’s even more rare that they’re chosen out of a hat. That, though, is exactly how Courtney chose the person who became her best friend.

“I was in fifth grade, and to get us more excited about writing, my teacher arranged for all the students in our class to have pen pals,” Courtney explains. “We actually picked our pen pals out of a hat, and the name I picked was Siobhan*.”

Siobhan lived in Ireland. As part of the writing program, she and Courtney exchanged letters every month. By the time the school year ended they had developed an unbreakable bond.

“We continued writing to each other for years and finally met in person when we were teenagers and my family took a trip to Disney World,” Siobhan explains. “I fell in love with Florida during that trip and vowed that one day I would move here permanently.”

Siobhan, 48, made good on that vow three years ago. She moved to a new home just a few miles from where Courtney lives in Merritt Island. Shortly after relocating, Siobhan asked Courtney if she would recommend a primary care physician for her.

“She told me that she goes to Island Family Health, so I made an appointment,” Siobhan reveals. “I’ve been going there ever since, and one of the things I like most about it is that they offer more than just primary care.”

Primary Care and More

Established in 2018 by Nikolaos Kanellopoulos, MD, Island Family Health provides primary care, family medicine services and several leading-edge aesthetic services, including medically supervised weight loss, medical aesthetics and body contouring.

It was the latter offering that recently caught Siobhan’s attention. Since moving to Florida, she’s become a regular beachgoer, but she’s always been a bit self-conscious about the way some extra belly fat made her look in her bathing suit.

“Siobhan’s concern is very common,” Dr. Kanellopoulos states. “The reason is that abdominal fat is the hardest to lose through dieting, which she had been doing. When she asked me what else she could do to lose that extra belly fat, I suggested Emsculpt^® NEO.

“Emsculpt NEO is a one-of-a-kind, nonsurgical body contouring treatment system that does three things at once. It burns stubborn fat, tones and strengthens the muscles in the area that’s being targeted, and even tightens the skin in those areas.”

Ideally suited for women and men who have a body mass index (BMI) of less than 35, Emsculpt NEO delivers fat-burning results through an applicator that emits rapid pulses of high intensity electromagnetic and radiofrequency energy.

The energy heats fat cells to a degree that forces them to die. After the cells have died, or melted away, the lipids inside them are released into the lymph system. From there they are excreted over a period of time.

As the fat cells are treated, muscles in the target area are heated, and a device on the applicator delivers the equivalent of thousands of contractions to those muscles in a matter of minutes. Each session, which lasts about 30 minutes, effectively tones and strengthens muscles in the target area, which can be the abdomen, legs, thighs, upper arms or buttocks.

“It’s the electromagnetic energy that causes the muscle to contract, and that energy creates approximately 20,000 contractions in 28 minutes, which is even greater than what you could ever get in any high-intensity workout,” Dr. Kanellopoulos explains.

This is all done while the patient lies comfortably on a table, and clinical studies show that Emsculpt NEO patients typically realize a 30 percent decrease in fat, a 25 percent increase in muscle growth and up to 19 percent reduction in abdominal separation after four treatments.

Treatment plans are designed with the patient’s specific needs in mind, but Dr. Kanellopoulos recommends that, no matter the target area, patients go through at least four sessions to achieve the best results.

“Some people may need a few more treatments and some may need a few less; it all depends on the patient and the area being treated,” Dr. Kanellopoulos notes. “The treatments can be anywhere from five to 10 days apart so there’s room for adjustment.

“And while people can usually feel their muscles getting stronger and taut after just one or two treatments, fat doesn’t melt away that quickly. That’s a process that takes time, so the best results usually start to appear within one to three months.”

For patients with bouts of urinary incontinence, Dr. Kanellopoulos will combine the Emsculpt NEO with another treatment featuring the BTL Emsella^® chair. This dual treatment option is called Core to Floor therapy.

Like the Emsculpt NEO, the BTL Emsella chair uses electromagnetic energy to create muscle contractions while the patient sits comfortably. The difference is that the chair specifically stimulates the muscles of the pelvic floor.

Clothes Fitting Better

Siobhan was not experiencing incontinence issues, so her treatment plan consisted of only four Emsculpt NEO treatments. Those treatments delivered the results she desired and the look she had been hoping for.

“My experience was so positive,” Siobhan gushes. “When I went in for my first Emsculpt NEO treatment, I weighed 144 pounds and my waist was 34 inches. Now I weigh 128 pounds and my waist is 30 inches, so I couldn’t be happier.

“I have to admit that I was a skeptical about all this when I first started. I was thinking, How can this work? But it did work because after I was finished with the four treatments, I started to see the results and I was like, Oh, my gosh!”

“Now my clothes are fitting better and looking better on me, and I can feel good about wearing a bathing suit again. It’s been a while since I could do that, and I have to say that I really do believe in Emsculpt NEO and highly recommend it.”

Siobhan recently began a regular exercise routine to help her maintain her improved figure. She developed the routine with the help of the staff at Island Family Health, which she lauds for its personal approach to health care.

“Everyone there treats you like you’re a member of their own family,” Siobhan enthuses. “That’s one of the things I really like about them. I also like that they really take their time when they’re with you, and Dr. Kanellopoulos is so comfortable to be around.

“He always answers any questions I have, and he cares about your well-being. He doesn’t treat you like you’re a patient or a client; he treats you like a person that really matters, and everyone is so welcoming. I love them all.”