Retrospective Review of Skin Laxity Improvement After a Single Acoustic Subcision Treatment for Cellulite Appearance

Noninvasive acoustic subcision uses rapid acoustic pulse (RAP) treatment to disrupt subdermal and dermal fibrous tissue, thereby improving cellulite appearance. A prior multicenter study showed that 1 RAP treatment improved cellulite appearance 12 weeks after treatment.

To evaluate whether treatment with acoustic subcision improved skin laxity appearance in participants with skin laxity seeking treatment for cellulite appearance.

This retrospective study used images collected from a prior study that evaluated adult participants ( n = 51) with severe cellulite on ≥1 thigh and/or buttock at baseline and 12 weeks after 1 RAP treatment. Outcomes included proportion of participants who achieved clinical improvement in skin laxity appearance via correct identification (≥60%) of blinded, randomized pretreatment and post-treatment photos; Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS) responder rates ("improved" or "much improved") for skin laxity by ≥2 of three physician reviewers 12 weeks post-treatment.

Among 51 participants, the mean age was 43 years. At least two of three physicians correctly identified 90.2% of photo sets (pretreatment vs week 12 post-treatment; 95% CI: 78.6%‒96.7%). GAIS responder rate was 80.4% (95% CI: 66.9%‒90.2%).

RAP treatment targeting cellulite also improved the appearance of skin laxity.