Body Contouring

Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck)

Weight changes and pregnancies can leave extra skin and fat around the waist. The excess skin and fat can be removed with a variety of techniques. The technique chosen is primarily dependent on the anatomy of the patient.

In a standard abdominoplasty, excess skin and fat are removed from the abdomen in an ellipse. The upper and lower abdominal tissue are sewn together, leaving a horizontal scar. The fascia (strong, thin tissue overlying the rectus abdominis muscle) is sometimes sewn along the midline of the abdomen to correct diastasis recti (spreading of the muscles, commonly seen after pregnancies). The correction of diastasis recti does not damage the function of the rectus abdominis muscle. Sometimes, liposuction of the sides of the abdomen is also performed at the same time as an abdominoplasty procedure to improve the contour of the trunk.

                                                      Click to view Abdominoplasty Photographs

Mini-abdominoplasty

Some patients have a small amount of excess skin and fat on the lower portion of the abdomen below the umbilicus and do not need as large an excision of skin and fat. The smaller amount of excess skin and fat can be removed with a smaller horizontal scar on the abdomen compared to a standard abdominoplasty. However, spreading of the rectus abdominis muscles above the umbilicus cannot be corrected with a mini-abdominoplasty.

Circumferential Torso Lift

Some patients have a large amount of excess skin and fat on the waist in the front and the back. The excess skin and fat can be removed from both areas in an ellipse, which can also lift the buttock tissue. The upper and lower tissue of the ellipse is sewn together, leaving a horizontal scar on the front and back of the waist.


Brachioplasty (Arm Lift)

Weight changes can leave excess skin and fat on the upper arms. The excess tissue can hang down and cause some patients to limit their clothing to long sleeves. Excess skin and fat may be removed from the inner upper arm in an ellipse, leaving a scar along the bicipital groove (along the inner upper arm in a longitudinal orientation). When there is only a little extra skin, sometimes the excess tissue can be removed from an incision in the axilla (armpit) only. Liposuction is sometimes performed to the upper arms at the same time as the brachioplasty depending on the anatomy and skin quality.

Thigh Lift

Weight changes can leave excess skin and fat on the thighs. The excess skin and fat can hang down and cause some patients to limit their bathing suits to one with shorts or skirts. Excess skin and fat may be removed from the inner upper thigh, leaving a scar along the inguinal crease. Liposuction is sometimes performed to the thighs at the same time as the thigh lift depending on the anatomy and skin quality.


Liposuction

In patients with good elastic skin quality, liposuction can be a great technique to improve the contour of many parts of the body. The procedure is done through 1 cm cuts, which usually fade to imperceptible scars. Liposuction can be performed alone or as an addition to another surgical procedure. Sometimes, liposuction is recommended by Dr. Vasile to improve the contour of the donor site in patients after microsurgical perforator flap breast reconstruction procedures.

Fat Grafting

The fat that is removed with liposuction can be processed and injected into a different part of the body with a special cannula. Some of the fat that is injected does not live, and is reabsorbed by the body. The portion of fat that does live is your own tissue and is permanent. Fat grafting may need to be performed as a series of procedures depending on the volume of fat needed. Dr. Vasile uses the Coleman micro fat grafting technique to improve the survival of the fat injected.