INTRODUCTION: Deoxycholic acid currently approved only for minimally invasive treatment of submental fat. The effects of deoxycholic acid on fat need not be limited to submental fat and represents an opportunity to treat undesired fat in many other body parts.1 Injection lipolysis has the potential risks of skin loss/necrosis, hyperpigmentation, neovascular response, and contour irregularities.2 There are no reports to date of results of body contouring using deoxycholic acid. This study shows the first real-world use of deoxycholic acid for non-submental locations for body contouring, and characterizes safety and efficacy of treatment.
METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of 14 patients treated at a single-center between June 2015-December 2016. Each patient was assessed for excess undesired fat in specific regions, thereby identifying the target treatment area. Deoxycholic acid was injected into the subcutaneous fat of each respective region (0.2 mL per injection of 10mg/mL to achieve a dose of 2mg/cm2) for a maximum of 3 treatments. Response was defined as decreased palpable and/or visible fullness due to decreased overall adipose deposits. Injection-site adverse events (AEs) and other AEs were recorded at each visit. Follow-up was at 10 weeks.
RESULTS: Desired regions treated were peri-axillary fat (n=6), inner thighs (n=3), outer thighs (n=5), upper arm (n=6), knees (n=6), abdomen (n=2), and jowls (n=4). Improvement in fat reduction in the desired regions was achieved in 100% of patients with follow-up (n=12). No AEs were reported at 10 week follow-up of all patients (n=14) including skin loss/necrosis, hyperpigmentation, neovascular response, contour irregularities, numbness, or motor dysfunction.
CONCLUSION: Body contouring using deoxycholic acid is effective with no significant adverse events at early follow-up in this pilot small sample of patients. Continued follow-up with safety data monitoring of a larger set of patients will be needed to inform future on-label non-submental indications for deoxycholic acid. This represents an attractive minimally invasive alternative to liposuction and other forms of injection lipolysis for body contouring.
Reference Citations:
1. Sykes JM, Allak A, Klink B. Future Applications of Deoxycholic Acid in Body Contouring. J Drugs Dermatol. 2017;16(1):43–46.
2. Duncan D. Injection Lipolysis for Body Contouring. In: Shiffman MA, Di Giuseppe A, eds. Body Contouring. Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 2010:59–70.