Other trends in abdominoplasty: new design and importance of lipo-mid-abdominoplasty in body contour surgery

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

During the last few years, the surgical principles of abdominoplasty have remained unchanged. Therefore, many patients undergoing this technique have misalignment and high and straight transverse scars of the abdomen, with the final position of the umbilical scar being very close to the transverse scar, making the abdomen seem short. We propose modifying the basic concept of marking in abdominoplasty, because we believe it is important to position the transverse scar lower in the medial and pubic region and higher at the lateral ends, allowing anterior lumbar flap rotation in an inferomedial direction.

Methods:

We retrospectively analyzed 146 patients with abdominal defects and subjected them to lipo-mid-abdominoplasty, marking with strong upper concavity and guiding the sides of the scar towards the lower transverse line of the abdomen, 4 cm equidistant from the root of the thigh. We also define liposuction as a complementary treatment to body contouring.

Results:

We consider that mid-abdominoplasty parameters are applicable in most cases, obtaining satisfactory results both in patients with flatness and supraumbilical abdominal lipodystrophy and patients with an “apron” abdomen with considerable flaccidity and diastasis of the abdominal rectus.

Conclusion:

It is important to determine the area of the abdominal defect and its classification to establish treatment strategies and association with complementary procedures. A lower marking with respect to the treatment areas will allow a more aesthetic scar and a harmonic body contour as well as an adequate placement of the umbilical scar, pubis, and lateral ends of the transverse abdominal scar.

Keywords:
Abdominoplasty; Body contour; Lipectomy; Abdominal fat; Body surface; Abdominal rectus; Abdominal wall; Umbilicus; Fat tissue