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Diagnostic ultrasound provides optimal evaluation of nonsurgical subcutaneous fat removal
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Compared with other methods of measuring the thickness of subcutaneous fat in the human abdomen, diagnostic ultrasound was found to be a reliably accurate and reproducible method, according to study results published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
The researchers were concerned with the considerable variability of outcomes in current measurement methods, such as circumferential tape measurement, caliper skin-pinch thickness, clinical photography and diagnostic ultrasound.
“The potential detriments to accuracy are two: compressibility by the operator, and difficulty identifying a reproducible deep point on the muscle fascia,” Fritz E. Barton Jr., MD, and colleagues wrote regarding diagnostic ultrasound. “As a result of identifying these measurement variables, we undertook a validation study of ultrasound measurement to determine whether accurate measurements could be consistently reproduced by the operator.”
A single trained nurse performed 47 fat depth measurements using a diagnostic ultrasound device with a 12-MHz transducer. A basic force gauge was attached to the transducer head with compression pressure limit of 50 N and an accuracy of ±0.25%. The measurements were performed over the rectus abdominis muscle, 2 inches below the umbilicus, with the transducer oriented horizontally.
Results of the measurements showed a mean transducer pressure of 0.0924 N, with an SE of 0.0114 and a mean absolute deviation of 0.06. Precision of the reproduced measurements was ±0.558 mm (95% CI, 0.377-0.739 mm).
“We believe [the results] to be attributable to the technique of applying a generous amount of ultrasound gel, applying the transducer and then ‘backing off’ contact just enough for the ultrasound image to register on the ultrasound screen,” the authors advised. “Care was taken to not lift the skin. Although operator training is needed to develop the appropriate ‘light touch,’ the consistency of our data indicates that it is accomplishable.” – by Talitha Bennett
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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