206 posters, 13 topics, 5 sessions, 713 authors, 293 institutions

AAPS 104th Annual Meeting

May 2-5, 2026 | Lihue, HI

D142

Dose-dependent Effects Of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy On Post-breast Reconstruction Fibrosis: A Follow-up Randomized Controlled Trial

Preview of Dose-dependent Effects Of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy On Post-breast Reconstruction Fibrosis: A Follow-up Randomized Controlled Trial

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Poster Presenter

Katherine Kozlowski

Authors

Katherine Kozlowski, Antoinette Nguyen, Marlynn Lopez, Aneeq Chaudhry, Diana Griffin, Daniel Rabin, Robert Galiano

Affiliations

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine - Urbana, Florida International University College of Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine - Chicago

Part of Topic

Breast Reconstruction

Background

•Our previous RCT1 comparing extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) to placebo showed ESWT significantly improved pain, softness, lesion size, and sonographic features associated with post-breast reconstruction fibrosis

•Dose-response relationship between ESWT and breast fibrosis has not been established

Research Objectives

Evaluate lower- (E2) vs. higher- energy (E3) ESWT on rate and magnitude of clinical and imaging improvement

Methods

•Single-blind RCT; (N=36) adult women with clinically diagnosed fibrosis after breast surgery

•Randomization [E2 (N=30) or E3 (N=6)]

•8 biweekly sessions delivered over 4 weeks

•Primary outcome: patient-reported softness

•Secondary outcomes: fibrosis size, pain, observer assessments, ultrasound tissue quality (homogeneity, fibrotic bands, echogenicity)

Results

•Mean age: 51.8 ± 10.9 years; Mean treatment area: 63.5 ± 41.4 mm2

•Higher-energy ESWT (E3) demonstrated significantly greater improvements in reported breast softness and size decrease; greater attenuation of the fibrotic band and improved homogeneity on ultrasound (Figure 1)

•Higher-energy group showed a faster reduction in fibrosis size between visits (Figure 2)

Limitations

•Statistical power is limited by small E3 sample size

•Potential response bias due to single-blind study design

Conclusion

•Our results suggest a dose-dependent response to ESWT for treating post-breast reconstruction fibrosis.

•Future research should optimize ESWT treatment protocols for clinical use and further investigate clinical significance