Liposuction to Improve the Neck and Facial Contour

Abstract

Facial contour is a very wide concept concerning treatment of unaesthetic abnormalities of the face and neck. Since the early last century when rhytidoplasty became a new and special field in plastic surgery, localized adiposity was quite a difficult problem to be solved during operation. Lipectomy of submental and submandibular regions was performed under quite aggressive traumatic and bleeding procedures due to vascular trauma caused by complex dissection to remove adipose tissue. However when liposuction (A new technique. (Une nouvelle technique) Communication a la Societe Française de Chirurgie Esthetique, Juin, São Paulo, 1978), it was evident that it would be possible to also apply that technique in order to remove accumulated adiposities of the submandibular and submentonian regions. As soon as I learned the technique, it was clear to me how to proceed the removal of the local fat by using the new method (Avelar JM. Submentonean and submandibular adiposity – Liposuction Versus Lipectomy (Adiposidade submentoniana e submandibular – Lipoaspiração x Lipectomia). Annal of the Brazilian Symposium on Facial Contour. (Anais do Simpósio Bras. do Contorno Facial), Sposored by Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery – Regional of São Paulo (Patrocinio da Sociedade Brasileira de Cirurgia Plástica – Regional São Paulo) Ed. By Avelar JM pg. 69–72, 24–25 setembro 1983; Avelar JM. Flankplasty and torsoplasty – a new surgical approach. Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc. 1999;88/89(1/6):21–35). At that time I already suggested that the cannula tip should be turned towards the depth, on the platysma muscle, in order to preserve the subdermal layer underneath the cutaneous covering. This way, avoids any damage on it, which could cause ungraceful and unaesthetic surgical results. Since the beginning one may achieve a great improvement with minimal rate of complications employing liposuction technique, isolated or combined with rhytidoplasty surgery remodeling submental and submandibular regions (Avelar, Aesthet Plast Surg 9:257–63, 1985; Liposuction of the submandibular and submental regions. (Lipoaspiração das Regiões Submentoneana e submandibular). In: Avelar JM, Illouz YG, editors. Liposuction (Lipoaspiração). São Paulo: Hipócrates; 1986. p. 139–47).