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Key Points
- One alternative to liposuction is Zerona laser, according to one expert.
- Other experts are still questioning the laser's sustained efficacy.
NATIONAL REPORT With the high patient demand for liposuction comes an equally high interest in developing new, more effective, and less invasive methods for achieving the same — or better — results. While Gregory Roche, M.D., in private practice in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., touts the new Zerona laser (Erchonia Medical) as such an alternative, other cosmetic surgeon experts await additional data. "The laser works by dragging the fatty content of the cells out of the cells through the cell membrane into the extracellular space, resulting in deflation of the adipose cells," Dr. Roche, who recently studied the effects of the Zerona laser, tells
Cosmetic Surgery Times
. "This has been proven by histology and scanning microscopy," he adds.
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Dr. Roche
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Dr. Roche's study, which has been submitted to a peer-reviewed aesthetic journal and is currently in the review process, included 67 patients. Thirty-five were randomized to the active treatment group, and 32 were randomized to the placebo group. Patients in the treatment group were treated with a five-diode laser scanner device, emitting 635 nm red laser light, with each diode generating 17 mW output. Patients in the placebo group were treated with a five-light emitting diode scanner device, emitting 635 nm red light, with each diode generating 2.5 mW power. Each patient received six total treatments with the laser scanner (three procedures per week). Each session was at least two — but no more than three — days apart.
A total of 62.86 percent of patients in the treatment group and 6.25 percent of patients in the placebo group achieved a total decrease of three inches or more in combined circumference measurements from pre-procedure to study endpoint. Additionally, patients in the treatment group lost an average of 2.837 inches more than patients in the placebo group. Compared with baseline, total circumference measurements were statistically lower at week 1, week 2, and 2 weeks post-procedure. Patients in the treatment group achieved an overall decrease of 3.22 inches in total circumference measurements between baseline and two weeks after the procedure, which was statistically significant. Patients in the placebo group achieved an overall decrease of 0.62 inches in total circumference measurements during the same time period.
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This histological series depicts the Zerona lasers purported effect; the thinning of the cell wall (Fig. 6) allowing lipid passage into the extracellular space and the cells subsequent collapse. (All photos credit: Gregory Roche, M.D.)
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Patients in the test group achieved a decrease in waist circumference of 1.08 inches between baseline and two weeks post-procedure, while patients in the placebo group achieved a decrease in waist circumference of 0.32 inches during the same time period. Additionally, patients in the test group achieved a decrease in hip circumference of 0.7 inches during this time period, while patients in the placebo group achieved a decrease in hip circumference of 0.22 inches. In treatment of the thigh area, patients in the test group achieved a decrease in right thigh circumference of 0.78 inches and a decrease in left thigh circumference of 0.67 inches. In contrast, patients in the placebo group achieved an increase in right thigh circumference of 0.04 inches and a decrease in left thigh circumference of 0.12 inches.
