Non-invasive body contouring with focused ultrasound technology.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It has been reported that non-invasive focused ultrasound is capable of lipolysis with no adverse effects. The objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of focused ultrasound in body contouring in Asians. DESIGN/MATERIAL AND METHODS: 45 subjects were recruited in the initial study where subjects were offered up to 3 treatments with approximately 1 month interval between each treatment. Each visit involves focused ultrasound treatment on abdomen t ± flanks/waist, depending on each individual’s body build. Standardized photos were taken at baseline and before each treatment as well as follow-up visits. Waist line is measured at fixed distance from ground every time. Patient questionnaires were given to assess subjective improvement and any discomfort. Additional 10 subjects were recruited in the second phase after we were given a measuring device by UltraShape1 for accurate measurements. RESULTS: In the preliminary study, 30% subjects showed decrease in waist circumference after three treatments. However, it has to be taken into account that 35% of the subjects had weight reduction. This decrease in waist circumference is not great enough to be statistically significant. In the second phase, 55% showed decrease in waist circumference after one treatment. Within that group, 33% had weight reduction which corresponds to decrease in circumference of the control area, 33%. However this is not enough to be statistically significant. Overall, 50% subjects felt that there was no improvement and 50% feels that there was mild improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrashape has little effect on body contouring in this study. This may be due to the small surface area, thus limited number of shots per treatment in smaller body built in Asians. The large transducer is also a limiting factor for decreasing the possible number of shots per treatment.