SPRINGFIELD -- Just when some people might have given up on ever getting rid of those pesky love handles, a fat-busting techniques has arrived in the Ozarks.  Although some people may look at the cosmetic procedure with a healthy dose of skepticism, it appears the procedure might really work.

  Whether she's stocking their hardware stores in Springfield and Ava or keeping herself in shape, Sandy Fleetwood has always taken care of business.

  "I eat healthy, I exercise, I run; so I'm pretty healthy,” she said.

  Still, she’s not entirely happy with her appearance.

  "No matter what I did, couldn't lose it around the thighs, inner thighs, abdomen, no matter how many sit-ups; nothing worked,” she said..

   Then Fleetwood started hearing about a new cosmetic procedure called Lipo Dissolve that sounded too good to be true.  But registered nurse Shelly Brady of Advanced Laser Center says it is true -- she can make fat disappear.

  “It has a lot of science behind it,” said Brady.

  She brought Lipo Dissolve to the Ozarks.

  "This is called body sculpting; the West Coast calls it non-surgical liposuction,” she said.

  Like the surgical Liposuction, Lipo Dissolve is for people who are already at a healthy stable weight but just have pockets of fat that won't go away -- exactly the kind of help that Fleetwood wanted for her tummy, her inner and outer thighs.

   Fleetwood recently had her second -- and last -- treatment on what's left of her love handles.  Once a trained nurse or physician identifies the fat pocket to be treated, the Lipo Dissolve is delivered with a series of injections containing a combination of two medicines individually approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

  “I'm injecting only into the fat pocket,” said Brady, “a fat dissolving enzyme that creates inflammation in cells and destroys it that way."

  Within hours, the treated area swells two to three times its size.  Patients compare the pain to having a lot of bee stings. 

  “By the next day, the swelling goes down, pain is gone, and it’s a little sore,” said Fleetwood.

  But the Lipo Dissolve process takes another 4-6 weeks as the fat cells dissolve and the body takes its time getting rid of the remnants.

  "We have cells that come and clean up the dead cells, pull them out into the lymphatic system, and sends them to the kidney to be excreted naturally," said Brady.

  After a series of treatments over several months, Fleetwood lost inches and two whole jean sizes.

  "It is amazing the difference; everything now is more in proportion,” she said.

  Doctors like Brenda Wells see the benefit of something like Lipo Dissolve but remind people that it's not a weight loss program.  There are other options for that.

  "Other people just need the right guidance and education,” said Wells.  “It’s all about learning what tools fit for life."

  Lipo Dissolve turned out to be the tool for which Fleetwood had been looking.  For the first time in her life, she says she feels proportionate.

  "You just feel better about yourself,” said Fleetwood.

   Researchers don't know why yet but Lipo Dissolve works on only 85 percent of patients who try it.  The cost for a treatment is $400 and patients have between three and six treatments.   If the trouble spot requires any more attention than that, patients at Advanced Laser Center are referred to plastic surgeons for liposuction or directed to a weight loss program.