Emerging Therapies and Multimodal Approaches for Body Contouring

Conclusions

• The presentation concludes that post-GLP-1 patients have changed the body-contouring landscape by commonly needing treatment for residual fat, skin laxity, and muscle loss at the same time.
• No single body-contouring device or therapy adequately addresses all of these concerns, so multimodal treatment is the most effective overall strategy.
• Selecting therapy should be based on the primary target tissue—fat, skin, muscle, or a combination—rather than on a one-device-fits-all approach.
• Injectable lipolysis and injectable cryolipolysis are promising because they may make body contouring more scalable and customizable than traditional capital-intensive devices.
• Cryolipolysis remains effective and well established, but newer applicators and injectable coolant approaches may improve practicality, expand anatomical reach, and potentially reduce limitations.
• HIFU and radiofrequency are best viewed as complementary technologies for skin tightening and remodeling, with HIFU leaning toward deeper fat and RF toward dermal and subdermal tightening.
• HIFEM-based muscle stimulation is important for patients with post-weight-loss sarcopenia or muscle atrophy because it can improve muscle tone and definition.
• Emerging microwave technology appears promising for combined fat reduction and skin tightening, but its long-term evidence base is still limited.
• The best body-contouring outcomes come from personalized sequencing of multiple treatments matched to the patient’s anatomy and goals, not from relying on a single modality.