PALM DESERT, CALIF. An ultrasound machine does appear to reduce waist size without changing a person's weight, Dr. Karyn L. Grossman said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery.
The treatment produced an average 2-cm reduction in circumference of thighs or abdomens treated and a 3-mm reduction in the fat layer of treated areas, relative to controls, reported Dr. Grossman, who practices in Santa Monica, Calif.
"This is probably a safe alternative to low-volume liposuction," she said.
The device used was the UltraShape Contour I (UltraShape Inc., Tel Aviv). The study enrolled 162 patients who received a single treatment of the abdomen or thighs at one of five centers, two of which were in the United States. Those patients were compared with control patients.
The reduction in circumference of the treated patients became noticeable at 7 days in some patients and was measurable in the overall group by 28 days. In the patients who had a single thigh treated, the average reduction observed in the treated thigh was 2 cm relative to the untreated thigh at 21 days. That reduction persisted throughout the 84 days of the trial.
"I really can't imagine that after 84 days the fat is going to grow back," Dr. Grossman said.
There was a measurable reduction in circumference of the treatment areas in 82% of the treated patients, and 76% of patients expressed moderate to excellent satisfaction with the procedure. Neither the treated patients nor the controls lost any weight as groups during the trial, she added.
Safety evaluation to detect nerve damage or blood vessel destruction was conducted rigorously, and there were no abnormalities observed in any patient. The only adverse events occurred in two patients who experienced burns when treated over the trochanter, probably because the area did not have enough fat, Dr. Grossman said.
The device is not approved in the United States, but it is available in other countries. Dr. Grossman said that she has no financial connections with UltraShape Inc., but her partner in practice is a paid consultant to the company.