Kybella injections to reduce submental fat. Administered personally by Dr. Amir Mortazavi, MD.

Kybella is synthetic deoxycholic acid — a molecule your body already produces to break down dietary fat. Injected beneath the chin, it disrupts fat cell membranes and destroys them.

The destroyed cells are gone permanently. Once the treated fat is cleared, it doesn't come back. This is the only injectable that does that.

Kybella is FDA-approved for improvement of submental fullness — an actual approved indication, not an off-label use.

Is your double chin actually fat?

This determines whether Kybella will do anything, and it's the assessment that matters most.

Pinch the area under your chin.

You can grasp a soft roll → subcutaneous fat. Kybella treats this.

It feels firm with little to pinch → the fullness is likely deeper fat beneath the muscle, a recessed chin, skin laxity, or an enlarged salivary gland. Kybella will not help, and injecting it won't change anything.

Several things create the same silhouette:

A recessed chin creates the appearance of submental fullness without much fat present — that's chin filler, and it's a common reason patients think they need Kybella when they don't.

Loose skin without fat won't improve, and reducing volume beneath loose skin can make laxity more apparent.

Platysmal banding pulls the jawline down and blurs the boundary — that's neurotoxin.

Dr. Mortazavi assesses which of these you have. Patients treated with Kybella for the wrong problem get no result from a treatment that worked correctly.

The swelling is significant. Plan for it.

This is the most under-communicated aspect of Kybella, and the reason patients feel blindsided.

Substantial swelling under the chin is expected — sometimes dramatic, most pronounced in the first 24 to 72 hours, and it can persist for one to two weeks. Numbness, firmness, and tenderness in the area are also common and normal.

This is not a lunchtime treatment. Do not schedule it within two weeks of an event, a photo, or anything where you need to look normal. The swelling is a sign the medication is working, and it's also very visible.

What to expect: a grid of small injections under the chin, taking about 15 to 20 minutes with numbing. Expect burning or aching for a short period afterward.

Most patients need two to four sessions, spaced at least four to six weeks apart. Improvement builds progressively; a single treatment rarely produces the full result.

Results are permanent for the fat cells destroyed. Significant weight gain afterward can enlarge remaining fat cells in the area, so the result holds best with stable weight.

Not for everyone. Kybella must be placed accurately — the marginal mandibular nerve runs nearby, and injection outside the intended zone can cause temporary asymmetry of the smile. Anatomical mapping before injection is the treatment, which is why it's performed by the physician rather than delegated.

Not appropriate during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or with infection at the treatment site.