LONG-TERM RESULTS OF BLUNT SUCTION LIPECTOMY ASSESSED BY A PATIENT QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

A questionnaire was sent to 1339 consecutive patients who had undergon e blunt suction lipectomy during the period between April 1984 and Apr il 1987. Seventy-four percent replied, thus providing information abou t the results of 1929 procedures. The overall reported rate of satisfa ction was 76 percent, with no significant difference between males and females. Highest satisfaction referred to pseudogynecomastia, subment al area, iliac crest, and lower extremities on females. The rate of di ssatisfaction was 6 percent. Dissatisfaction was associated most frequ ently with lipectomy of the buttocks. Underresection was reported for 30 percent and overresection for 2.2 percent of the procedures. The la tter, in particular, seemed to lead to dissatisfied patients. Asymmetr y was reported for 19 percent of the procedures. Recurrence (''return' ') of fatty tissue was reported for 29 percent at the resection site. Thirty percent of the patients reported compensatory increase (''came back elsewhere'') in fat deposits in nontreated locations. Self-report ed weight gain was found to be a significant risk factor for both type s of ''regrowth.'' Irregularities were the most frequently reported pe rmanent changes to skin. There were twice as many negative as positive changes to skin. Most of the patients had benefited personally from t he surgery and were willing to consider undergoing lipoplasty again. A ll in all, the long-term results of blunt suction lipectomy are satisf actory.