ABSTRACT
The shape of the abdomen plays an important role in a person’s view of himself or herself as well as in how a person fits into their clothes. Many factors play a part in abdominal contour deformities, including local lipodystrophy, obesity, muscle laxity, fitness, previous surgery with resultant scars, skin laxity, age, previous pregnancies, hormone replacement therapy, menopause, and genetics. Various procedures may need to be employed ranging from liposuction alone to liposuction with scar undermining with or without skin excision to abdominoplasty with skin and muscle repair with or without umbilical translocation. The majority of patients can be treated by liposuction alone and both patients and surgeons, because of the ease of recovery and negligible morbidity, prefer that. Liposuction of the lower abdomen may be all that is necessary to treat a young, fit person, while liposuction of both the upper and lower abdomen is necessary for the best results in most people especially in those who are larger. Circumferential liposuction, ‘‘The Hourglass Abdomen’’ procedure is done in the patient who needs the upper and lower abdomen treated along with the waist, posterior waist, hips, and back to get a good result. Some patients need a miniabdomino-
plasty for loose skin or a complete abdominoplasty, which addresses both loose skin and muscle diastasis to achieve the desired result. This is a procedure that must be geared to the patient so an intensive evaluation and consultation are required.
