Open AccessObjective quantification of liposuction results
Author(s) -
Alain J. Azzi,
AnnSophie Lafrenière,
Alex Viezel-Mathieu,
Thomas M. Hemmerling,
Mirko S. Gilardino
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous and aesthetic surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.44
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 0974-5157
pISSN - 0974-2077
DOI - 10.4103/jcas.jcas_102_18
Subject(s) - liposuction , medicine , subcutaneous adipose tissue , adipose tissue , gold standard (test) , magnetic resonance imaging , subcutaneous fat , radiology , medical physics , modalities , medline , surgery , social science , sociology , political science , law
Currently, no reliable gold standard exists for the objective outcome measurement following liposuction. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize reported methods of monitoring liposuction results by objectively measuring subcutaneous adipose tissue. A systematic literature search was performed to identify relevant articles that described techniques for objectively quantifying adipose tissue following traditional liposuction. The search included published articles in three electronic databases-Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and PubMed. Subcutaneous adipose tissue was estimated using the following techniques: ultrasound, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and three-dimensional imaging volumetric analysis. Reported benefits of liposuction objective measurements included providing patients with a quantitative assessment of the liposuction results pre- and postoperatively, detecting significant changes in body fat deposits, and following patterns of fat redistribution. This review provides a summary of various techniques for quantification of liposuction results. More studies are needed to study the clinical relevancy and impact of the various imaging modalities reviewed as well as to develop automated volumetric measurement technology with improved accuracy, efficacy, and reproducibility.