Fat Layer Reduction Forum

A new study suggests that ultrasound imaging can help guide and monitor a laser during treatments to remove subcutaneous fat, thus possibly ensuring even safer and more effective results.

The study, published in the journal Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, used pig skin and fat samples. It found that ultrasound imaging aided laser procedures in two specific ways: First, ultrasound helped identify the boundary between the skin’s dermis (the inner layer of skin just below the surface layer, or epidermis) and subcutaneous fat (the adipose fat just under the skin). The dermal-fat boundary can vary in depth from one individual to another (usually from 0.5 to 4 millimeters). Knowing the precise composition of the tissue and the depth at which the dermis level ends and subcutaneous fat begins can help the physician select the proper fluence, irradiation wavelength, pulse duration and exposure time of the laser for a particular patient’s treatment.

Ultrasound imaging also helps monitor the increase in skin temperature that occurs in response to the laser therapy, the study found. Such monitoring is important to ensure surrounding tissue structures do not become damaged during treatment.

Source: Shah J, Thomsen S, Milner TE, Emelianov SY. Ultrasound guidance and monitoring of laser-based fat removal. Lasers Surg Med. 2008;40:680-687.

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