title: An evaluation of the patient population for aesthetic treatments targeting abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue.
abstract: A large and growing population of patients currently seeks minimally invasive therapeutic options for the aesthetic treatment of localized, central abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). We sought to evaluate the ideal population for aesthetic treatment of central abdominal SAT, highlight the existing disparities between SAT in obese (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30; BMI) and nonobese (BMI < 30) patients, and review the available FDA-cleared, minimally invasive treatment options for central abdominal adiposity. The cosmetic issue of localized, central (periumbilical) abdominal adiposity in nonobese individuals is quite distinct from abdominal bulging secondary to obesity. Given the recognized clinical and physiologic differences between obese and nonobese counterparts, the exclusion of obese patients from clinical study by currently available FDA-cleared devices targeting abdominal fat, and the status of obesity as a chronic, systemic disease requiring medical, surgical, and/or lifestyle-altering therapies, minimally invasive therapeutic options for aesthetic reductions in central abdominal SAT must be limited to the nonobese population.
authors.affiliation: Westlake Dermatology Clinical Research Center, Westlake Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Friedmann
authors.forename: Mathew M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Avram
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Diane I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: Mitchel P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.forename: Elliot T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: V Leroy
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D061645:Abdominoplasty / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D015992:Body Mass Index; D000075202:Contraindications; D004954:Esthetics; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000601:surgery; D018579:Patient Selection; D050507:Subcutaneous Fat, Abdominal / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: body mass index; central abdominal adiposity; cryolipolysis; high-intensity focused ultrasound; obesity; subcutaneous adipose tissue