To achieve maximum improvement, this is often combined with liposuction, either before or after abdominolplasty and if done in a limited fashion, sometimes at the same time of the abdominoplasty. The newer endoscopic abdominoplasty is a combination of muscle tightening through small incisions in the pubic area and liposuction. The indications are limited to young patients who have a moderated degree of muscle laxity, localized fatty deposits in the lower abdomen and minimal skin excess. It gained popularity in the United States in the early 80 s and has become the most commonly performed cosmetic operation. The ideal candidate for this procedure is a healthy, relatively young person with localized fatty deposits that do not improve with weight loss.
Liposuction has a tremendous appeal because it results in minimal hidden scars.
It is a very safe operation if done according to the accepted medical standards. Recent advances in liposuction include the more frequent use of wetting solutions as a method of obtaining local anesthesia and as a way to reduce blood loss. This is known as the tumescent technique, which is a variant of the wet and superwet techniques. The use of the ultrasonic energy to improve the results of liposuction has been the main development in this field within the last couple of years. Our European and South American colleagues have again tried this technique first.