TITLE:
General Theory of Body Contouring: 2. Modulation of Mechanical Properties of Subcutaneous Fat Tissue
AUTHORS:
Ilja L. Kruglikov
KEYWORDS:
Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue; Mechanical Properties; Stiffness; Susceptibility to Plastic Deformation; Adipocytes Size Distribution; Body Contouring
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications,
Vol.4 No.2,
March
28,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Subcutaneous white adipose
tissue (sWAT) can be described micromechanically as a foam structure.
It is shown that according to this model, mechanical stiffness of this tissue is primarily dependent on the average
cell size and is almost independent of the dispersion of cell sizes in a local
adipocytes’ population. Whereas the influence of natural fat renewal process
with a rate of 10% per year must be of minor importance for mechanical
properties of sWAT, induced adipocytes’ death
can substantially reduce local sWAT stiffness. The sWAT which contains two or more
different subpopulations of adipocytes of varying sizes with a spatially
clustered structure can demonstrate significant inhomogeneity of their
mechanical properties when compared with those of sWAT consisting of a single
population of adipocytes. It is proposed that this effect may be an important
pathophysiological feature of cellulite. Transformation of the cell shape from
quasispherical to wrinkled or elliptical forms makes adipocytes more
susceptible to thermo-mechanical stress reducing the strain needed to achieve
the local plastic deformation. These mechanical features of sWAT are essential
for understanding the mechanisms of
different non-invasive and minimal invasive body contouring procedures.