Home Diseases and Conditions Lipoma

Lipoma

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Development Stage

Early Stage

Focused ultrasound research is in the laboratory phase and is not yet available for patients.

Clinical Trials

Focused ultrasound for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

International Approval

Focused ultrasound is approved to treat this condition outside the US. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating international sites.

FDA Approved

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved focus ultrasound for this condition. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating sites.

Early Stage

Clinical Trials

International

FDA Approved

Focused ultrasound for this condition has been researched in clinical trials. However, at this time, we are not aware of any open clinical trials.

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with lipomas that need to be removed. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces precise ablation (thermal destruction of tissue) enabling lipoma removal to be accomplished without surgery.

Advantages
The primary option for treatment of lipomas that require removal is invasive surgery.

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery with less risk of complications – such as surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound removal of lipomas.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement 

Removing lipomas with focused ultrasound is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Pham TT, Stokolosa AM, Borden PA, Hansen KD, Hong EM, Krasieva TB, Sivoraphonh RH, Moy WJ, Heidari AE, Lee LH, Kim EH, Sun CH, Jia W, Mo J-, Kim S, Hill MG, Wong BJF. Electrochemical degradation and saponification of porcine adipose tissue. Sci Rep. 2020 Nov 27;10(1):20745. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-76678-y.

Nguyen TT. Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Procedures: Liposuction and Nonsurgical Fat Reduction Procedures. FP Essent. 2020 Oct;497:23-26.

Atiyeh BS, Chahine F. Evidence-Based Efficacy of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) in Aesthetic Body Contouring. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2021 Apr;45(2):570-578. doi: 10.1007/s00266-020-01863-3. Epub 2020 Jul 23.

Fonseca VM, Campos PS, Certo TF, de-Faria LT, Juliano PB, Cintra DE, Liebano RE, da Silva C, Guidi RM, Sant’Ana E. Efficacy and safety of noninvasive focused ultrasound for treatment of subcutaneous adiposity in healthy women. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2018 Oct;20(6):341-350. doi: 10.1080/14764172.2018.1511907. Epub 2018 Oct 4.

Shemer A1, Brawer S, Amichi B, Azhari H. Noninvasive lipoma size reduction using high-intensity focused ultrasound. Dermatol Surg. 2013 Oct;39(10):1446-51. doi: 10.1111/dsu.12269. Epub 2013 Jul 18.

Singal, A., Janiga, J., Bossenbroek, N. and Lim, H. (2007), Dercum’s disease (adiposis dolorosa): a report of improvement with infliximab and methotrexate. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 21: 717. doi:10.1111/j.1468-3083.2006.02021

Click here for additional references from PubMed.