J. Guerrerosantos, SIMULTANEOUS RHYTIDOPLASTY AND LIPOINJECTION - A COMPREHENSIVE AESTHETIC SURGICAL STRATEGY, Plastic and reconstructive surgery, 102(1), 1998, pp. 191-199
Fat autografting is an accepted technique in the treatment of depressi
ons or augmenting thin soft tissues. Aging soft tissues become thin, a
mong them the subcutaneous fat layer, muscles, and fasciae, and these
tissues in addition become flaccid. Therefore, to Set better results i
n rejuvenation plastic surgery, a good alternative is the combination
of lifting: the flaccid tissues and thickening the thin soft tissues w
ith a lack of contour and definition, which enhances the aspect of the
entire face and neck. For 10 years in our practice, we have been comb
ining rhytidoplasty (which includes systematizing superficial musculoa
poneurotic system and platysma plication) with lipoinjection, placing
thin rolls of autologous fat into the facial and cervical muscles, or
at least under the fasciae. The results reveal a very high success rat
e with few minor complications. Proper diagnosis, patient selection, a
nd adequate surgical technique produce predictable and favorable aesth
etic results. A concurrent retrospective study of 357 consecutive pati
ents who underwent simultaneous rhytidoplasty and lipoinjection was co
nducted over a 10-year period (1985 to 1995). The purpose of this arti
cle is to show our experience with this method, including long follow-
up observations.