Pilot study of histology aspect of cellulite in seventy patients who differ in BMI and cellulite grading

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021 Dec;20(12):4024-4031. doi: 10.1111/jocd.14584. Epub 2021 Nov 6.

Abstract

Background: Cellulite is a topographic alteration of the skin with unknown etiology and is characterized by the presence of a dimpled or puckered aspect, as resembling an orange peel and cottage cheese or as having mattress-like appearance.

Aim: The aim of this research was to find the different histological aspect of cellulite in sixty patients.

Materials and methods: A total of 60 women, mean age 48.8 ( ± 11.08) were included in the study. Among these, 11 women were in menopause (18.33%). All patients after physical examination, aesthetic, and dermatological evaluation were subjected to five cellulite biopsies with a 2.0 mm diameter and 1.5 mm in length in the trochanteric region affected by cellulite. The descriptive statistics were performed for each study predictors demographic age, height, bmi, waist, belly, hip thigh, and knee.

Results: The histological analysis of the stained slides showed five different histological features were present in the most of patient.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the outcome of this study shows that the histological evidence does not characterize the different states of cellulite, but several different histological aspects were present in the same patient, which effectively eliminates staging and could consider cellulite as a degenerative disease.

Keywords: adipocytes; cellulite; dermal adipose tissue; pathogenesis; pathophysiology.

MeSH terms

  • Body Mass Index
  • Cellulite*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Pilot Projects
  • Skin
  • Thigh