EFFECT OF CONTROLLED VOLUMETRIC TISSUE HEATING WITH RADIOFREQUENCY ON CELLULITE AND THE SUBCUTANEOUS TISSUE OF THE BUTTOCKS AND THIGHS

Background: Regardless of diet and exercise, genetics plays an important part in creating puckering skin or dimples, which are difficult to hide at any age. The demand for a nonsurgical, noninvasive treatment of cellulite has inspired some manufacturers to invest in a new age of sophisticated devices and treatment therapies to repair the skin and improve contours. Although many of these new choices have demonstrated a smoothing effect (following a multitude of treatments), the objective documentation has in most cases been limited to biopsies, circumference measurements, and photographic evidence. Hypothesis: We believe that the application of noninvasive high-energy radiofrequency (RF) to the skin of the thigh and buttocks heats the subcutaneous adipose tissue, causing collagen fibers to contract. The resulting impact to the subcutaneous tissue and collagen is expected to improve the skin’s external architecture. Given that the subcutaneous tissue and adipose tissue are difficult to evaluate through histological methods, this investigation seeks to demonstrate the changes that occur when applying two treatments of high-energy RF on the subcutaneous tissue of thighs and buttocks utilizing real time ultrasound image scanning. Materials and Methods: Twenty-six healthy female patients (ages 18 to 50) with visible bilateral cellulite (grade 1 to 3) on either the buttocks and/or thighs received 2 treatment sessions (15 days apart) of unipolar RF using the Accent RF Syste