Women seeking a non-surgical, minimally invasive means of reducing the appearance of cellulite on their buttocks have a new option. Naples Plastic Surgery is pleased to now offer its southwest Florida area patients QWO^® (collagenase clostridium histolyticum-aaes) injections, the first and only FDA-approved injectable treatment for the reduction of moderate to severe cellulite in the buttocks.

QWO^® was developed by Endo Global Aesthetics, which conducted the largest ever cellulite reduction clinical trials of to assess the efficacy and safety of its novel product. The company’s two identical trials each enrolled 845 women with moderate to severe cellulite in the buttocks. Investigators and patient cellulite severity scales determined that the QWO^® groups experienced far more significant reductions in cellulite severity when compared to the placebo groups.

The formation of cellulite is caused by a combination of three things. Over time and as we age our skin thins. Meanwhile, fat cells may enlarge and push against the thinning skin, while fibrous bands under the skin also thicken. The resulting tension caused by these three factors then leads to the signature dimpling that cellulite causes on the butt.

The collagenases enzymes in QWO^® work to disrupt the underlying structural formation of cellulite by easing the tension of the fibrous bands, redistributing fat cells, and by spurring new collagen growth. 

Your QWO^® procedure at Naples Plastic Surgery involves injections into up to two treatment areas that can typically be conducted in under 10 minutes. Your specialist will determine how many treatment sessions are needed, with additional injections given 21 days apart for up to three total visits. 

Initial results may be noticeable within 10 weeks and most women see significant reduction in cellulite within four weeks of the final treatment, though individual results vary.

Common side effects include short-term pain, bruising, itching, redness, discoloration, swelling, and hardening of the treatment area. QWO^® can cause more serious side effects, such as anaphylaxis, if there is an allergic reaction. Anyone who is allergic to collagenase and other QWO^® ingredients, or who has an active infection in the vicinity of the treatment area, should not take the injections.