Clinical Study to Assess the 1,060 nm Diode Laser for the Treatment of Post-Liposuction Deformities.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Liposuction has become increasingly popular in the past decade due to advances in technique and technology. Despite the demand, there exists a significant population of patients who have contour deformities post-liposuction. The 1,060 nm diode laser has been Food and Drug Administration approved for the removal of unwanted fat, so it was theorized that this noninvasive laser system could be efficacious to smooth these areas of post-liposuction contour deformities. This study was designed to retrospectively study the clinical changes induced by a 1,060 nm diode laser system to treat contour deformities in tissue post-liposuction.

STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients with contour deformities post-liposuction (minimally six months post-surgery) were treated in the area of the deformity with the noninvasive hyperthermic 1,060 nm diode laser system. Each patient received two treatments at a 6-week interval in the anatomical area of their contour deformity.

RESULTS: Fifteen subjects had completed two treatments and the necessary follow-up needs to be included in these results. Two blinded evaluators could correctly identify the pre-treatment image compared to the post-treatment image in an average of 85% of subjects. So, 100% of the patients were graded to be at least "Improved" with an average of 40% of subjects being "Very Much Improved". Patient satisfaction was "High" in all subjects who have completed the treatment protocol. The physician satisfaction was rated as "Much Improved" in 33% of the patient results and "Improved" in 66% of the patient results.

CONCLUSIONS: The noninvasive hyperthermic 1,060 nm diode system is highly effective and safe for the treatment of contour deformities post-liposuction.