Rib Remodeling Without Rib Resection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Interest in body contouring has led to developing techniques for waistline reduction. Rib remodeling is one such method. Traditional rib resection is invasive, limiting its cosmetic use. This review and meta-analysis evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel rib remodeling technique that avoids rib removal.

A systematic search of PubMed, Cochrane Central, and Embase was performed up to August 2024. Outcomes included patient satisfaction, waistline reduction, pneumothorax, hemothorax, infection, skin burns, and asymmetry. The Freeman-Tukey Double Arcsine Transformation was used for data analysis, and statistical evaluations were conducted using R version 4.1.2.

Four studies with 318 patients were included, predominantly women (98.1%), with an average age of 32.7 years and BMI of 22.4 kg/m². The pooled analysis showed a satisfaction rate of 94.89 per 100 (95% CI 94.89-99.15); a significant reduction in waistline from preoperative to 3 months postoperative (MD - 8.59 cm; 95% CI - 10.27 to - 6.92; p < 0.01); pneumothorax and hemothorax rates were 0.00 per 100 (95% CI 0.00-0.66); infection prevalence was 0.00 per 100 (95% CI 0.00-1.18); skin burns prevalence was 0.57 per 100 (95% CI 0.00-3.91); and asymmetry prevalence was 1.85 per 100 (95% CI 0.25-4.41).

Rib remodeling without resection effectively reduces the waistline, achieving high patient satisfaction and minimal serious complications.

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