There are versatile modalities to achieve noninvasive fat reduction, and most of them have proven to be effective for circumferential reduction of local fat tissue, without any serious or permanent adverse effects. However, the follow-up time is short, ranging from 1 to 24 weeks. Most of the patients would like to know how long will its effect last and whether there is long-term side effect or not. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of combination therapy of focused ultrasound and radio frequency for noninvasive body contouring. Thirty-two Asian subjects received three sequential combination therapies of focused ultrasound and radio-frequency treatments every 2 weeks in the abdominal region and were followed up 1 month and 1 year after the last treatment. After a year, 5 patients were loss follow-up and 2 were pregnant. Finally, 25 healthy Asian subjects (18 females and 7 males) were enrolled in this study. Safety parameters and adverse events were recorded. The mean body weight change remained constant without a significant change 1 year after treatment and was 0.1 ± 1.2 kg (p = 0.513). The mean abdominal circumference change between 1 month and 1 year after the last treatment was 0.4 ± 1.2 cm and was not significant (p = 0.169). The relationships between weight change and circumference change of the 23 patients were tested using Spearman's rho correlation coefficient. There was a correlation between weight change and circumference change (0.73; p = 0.000). The procedure was safe without a recordable long-term adverse event. The combination therapies of nonthermally focused ultrasound and radio-frequency treatments for body contouring in the abdominal region are effective and may show positive results for at least a year if patients can maintain their body weight. The procedure is safe without recordable long-term adverse events in this study.
Keywords: Asians; Body contouring; Focused ultrasound; Long term; Radio frequency.