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Cryolipolysis was safe, effective in patients with almost all skin types

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ATLANTA − Cryolipolysis technology was safe and effective in fat thickness reduction treatment in patients with almost all skin types, according to study results presented at the annual American Society for Dermatologic Surgery meeting.

“The purpose of the study … was to look at the safety and efficacy in patients with skin of color because an increasing percentage of our population are people who have more pigment to their skin,” researcher Ava T. Shamban, MD, of Laser Institute for Dermatology and European Skin Care in Santa Monica, Calif., told Healio.com. “We wanted to make sure that it not only worked well but the safety profile was as good as in lighter skin types.”

 

Ava T. Shamban

Shamban and Vic A. Narurkar, MD, of Bay Area Laser Institute in San Francisco, conducted a retrospective analysis at two clinical sites for 396 patients (average age, 44 years; 84% women) who received cryolipolysis treatment (CoolSculpting, Zeltiq Aesthetics). Patient data points collected included age, gender, ethnicity, BMI, medical history, Fitzpatrick skin type (FST), number of treatments, areas treated and adverse effects. Phone follow-up was used to assess patient satisfaction.

Patients were treated on the back, flank and/or abdomen. Patients included almost all FSTs: I (n=0), II (n=85), III (n=185), IV (n=104), V (n=18) and VI (n=4) and various ethnicities, including African-American (n=7), Asian (n=38), Caucasian (n=295), Latino (n=37), Mediterranean (n=5) and Middle Eastern (n=14). Patient satisfaction assessment was completed by 201 patients. Data based on two groups of FSTs (I-III; n=122 vs. IV-VI; n=79) were comparable. Four percent of the FST IV-VI group and 7% of FST I-III group were unsatisfied with results. Minor side effects reported included bruising (16%), swelling (20%), bruising and swelling (4%), with rates comparable with both FST groups, and no adverse events reported.

The results showed that “the procedure works effectively in all skin colors and all ethnicities because we had a pretty sizable patient population that we looked at retrospectively, and so it’s safe to use just about on anybody as long as they don’t have any underlying medical conditions,” Shamban said. “But [there were] no changes in skin color, which is of course the biggest risk you take when you do a procedure on a person who has more pigment in their skin.”

For more information:

• Narurkar VA. A Multi-Center Retrospective Analysis of Safety following a Cryolipolysis Treatment in Darker Skin Types. Presented at: American Society for Dermatologic Surgery 2012 Annual Meeting; Oct.11-15, Atlanta.

Disclosure: Researcher Vic A. Narurkar, MD, serves as a consultant for Zeltiq.