Following pregnancy, it’s not uncommon to see women who have abdominal skin sag with stretch marks. Many of these patients also have fat collections of their hips and thighs. At Aesthetic Surgical Images, we frequently perform liposuction of the hips and thighs at the time of abdominoplasty; however, we avoid liposuction of the abdomen at the time of abdominoplasty because of the increased potential for wound-healing problems.
When performing abdominoplasty, the lower abdominal incision and the elevation of abdominal skin flaps interrupt several sources of blood supply to the abdominal skin. When liposuction of the abdomen is done during abdominoplasty, there is the potential to damage the remaining blood supply. This potentially could result in skin necrosis and wound-healing problems. If patients need liposuction of their abdomen, we prefer performing this procedure at a later date.
There are significant advantages in performing liposuction of the hips and thighs in combination with abdominoplasty. These include synergy, cost-savings, and one recovery period. Attempts to perform liposuction of the abdomen in combination with abdominoplasty potentially can result in an increased complication rate.
