Aesthetic surgery of the thoracoabdominal area combining abdominoplasty and circumferential lipoplasty: 7 years' experience.

[BACKGROUND] Aesthetic surgery of the thoracoabdominal area combining abdominoplasty and circumferential lipoplasty during the same surgical procedure is not a very common surgical procedure, but its use has increased during recent years. The authors present their surgical technique combining abdominoplasty and circumferential liposuction to improve body shape, emphasizing how complications can be prevented.

[METHODS] The authors present a 7-year experience combining abdominoplasty and circumferential liposuction. The authors operated on 310 female patients between 26 and 64 years of age (mean, 38 years), weighing between 51 and 113 kg (mean, 76 kg); 86 percent of them were overweight. During the surgical procedure, the authors performed abdominoplasty combined with posterior, lateral, and anterolateral suction-assisted lipoplasty. The abdominoplasty was performed with minimal superior undermining, performing only that necessary to permit muscle plication, preserving maximal blood supply to the distal flap.

[RESULTS] One thousand five hundred to 8200 ml of fat was obtained with liposuction (mean, 3700 ml) and 380 to 5100 g was eliminated on the abdominal flap (mean, 870 g). Sixty-three patients (20.3 percent) had minor complications and four patients (1.3 percent) had major complications.

[CONCLUSIONS] The combination of abdominoplasty and circumferential liposuction permits excellent body contouring in a single surgical procedure with minimal complications.