The current and emerging state of noninvasive body contouring

Catherine DiGiorgio, M.D., Boston

Over the last 10 years, noninvasive procedures have become increasing popular in the world of body contouring, according to Catherine DiGiorgio, M.D., Boston, who spoke about its’ heightened popularity at the 2019 American Society of Dermatologic Surgery meeting in Chicago.

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Dr. DiGiorgio, a board-certified cosmetic and laser dermatologist at The Boston Center for Facial Rejuvenation located in Boston explains that of 623,000 body contouring procedures conducted in 2018, only 18,000 were invasive, such as liposuction, according to recent ASDS data.

She attributes this to patients searching for treatments with minimal pain and downtime.

Today’s noninvasive offerings include injectables and energy-based devices, says Dr. DiGiorgio. For example, deoxycholic acid, a currently available injectable, is often used to dissolve fat in the submental area and can also be used off-label to correct or touch-up pockets of adipose tissue left over such from invasive liposuction.

Other noninvasive procedures include cryolipolysis, high and low intensity focused ultrasound and 1060 nm laser lipolysis.

Cryolipolysis is a well-known procedure that treats small areas of unwanted adipose tissue by cooling body fat, which breaks down the fat cells without damaging other types of tissue.

“We also have ultrasound treatments: high intensity focused ultrasound and low intensity focused ultrasound, which have been around for a while,” she says. “The low intensity focused ultrasound uses acoustic waves to create damage to the fat. And the high intensity focused ultrasound more creates necrosis through heating of the fat.”

Finally, laser lipolysis with a 1060 nanometer laser uses heat to selectively destroy adipose tissue on the body as well as the submental area, according to Dr. DiGiorgio.

New to the market
Dr. DiGiorgio also highlights new noninvasive offerings coming to the market, which include a collagenase clostridium histolyticum injection for treatment of cellulite as well as radiofrequency devices and devices that use electromagnetic stimulation.

Collagenase clostridium histolyticum is a combination of two bacterial collagenases that work to dissolve collagen types one and three. Currently, the injection is in a phase 3 open-label 5-year study investigating its efficacy in dissolving cellulite in women.

“This will be an exciting thing to see in the future if it really provides a new treatment for cellulite for our patients,” she says.

Electromagnetic stimulation works by stimulating muscle contractions, which builds muscle tissue and theoretically decreases fat, according to Dr. DiGiorgio.

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“I think that we have a lot to offer our patients in the noninvasive body contouring world and it's only going to grow from here. As dermatologists we really need to continue to grab hold of this technology and help our patients to look and feel their very best,” says Dr. DiGiorgio.

More information can be found at https://www.leonardmillermd.com/about/catherine-digiorgio-md.