LA Doctor Uses Human Fat to Power His Car?

by Katherine Butler

News Archives

And in other news, Paris Hilton harnesses the energy of her ego to power three suburban homes! (If only this were true….) If you live in Hollywood, you’re used to superficiality sometimes evolving into wackiness. But recent news has superficiality evolving into wackiness evolving into the best idea since sliced tofurky.

Here’s the deets. Former Los Angeles plastic surgeon Craig Alan Bittner allegedly used his patient’s fat to create "lipo-diesel,” which fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend’s diesel Lincoln Navigator. Furthermore, Bittner claims on his now defunct web site, lipodiesel.com, that "The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel -- and I have more fat than I can use. Not only do they get to lose their love handles or chubby belly, but they get to take part in saving the earth."

So is using the fat of Americans the key to resolving all the eco-problems of the world? Well, don’t get your hopes up too quickly. And as the local news pointed out, “It's unclear when Bittner started and stopped making his "lipo-diesel" or how he made it.” Another blogger throws cold water over the entire story. “A quick check at Lincoln’s website reveals there is no diesel model in the Lincoln Navigator, only a 310hp 5.4 liter V8 petrol engine.”

And more importantly, the good doctor’s clinic, Beverly Hills Liposculpture, closed in November. No, this is not because of dwindling resources. (I mean, come on. Los Angeles might be one of the thinnest cities in the country. We can hike all year round!) It is because Bittner is being sued by three former patients. They claim his assistant and girlfriend disfigured patients to remove more fat than necessary (to power their cars? Too weird to be true, right?) Also, apparently the good doctor's medical license was called into question. Not to mention, he has fled to South America.

So a girl can dream that somehow, the French fries she scarfed down last midnight will be justified by her gas tank. But in the meantime, it looks like she’ll have to stick to chomping down the organic carrot sticks and upping her cardio.