29-Mar-12 9:00 AM CST

Revision Surgery—The Main Causes Behind It, Part I

Before Surgery

This patient consulted with Dr. Patronella because she was unhappy with the results of a liposuction procedure she received elsewhere, as shown in this photo taken prior to the revision procedure she had with Dr. Patronella. This particular treatment left her with contour irregularities and more loose skin. Based upon Dr. Patronella's recommendation, she elected to have a tummy tuck, liposuction, and fat grafting to restore a smooth, natural appearance to her tummy.

When done right, cosmetic plastic surgery can produce enormously satisfying aesthetic results and a corresponding boost in self-confidence. Sadly, a growing area of my practice has become revision surgery to correct the disappointing results of cosmetic procedures gone wrong. Most of the problems I see fall into one or more of the following categories:

The surgeon demonstrated an error in judgment, recommending a procedure for which an individual is not a good candidate.
A proper recommendation was made, but the procedure was ineffectively performed.
The procedure is properly performed, but a significant complication occurred during the postoperative period.

In this article, I’ll focus on the first issue: a poor aesthetic outcome due to an improper procedure recommendation. As an illustration of this, some of my revision patients, desiring to restore a firmer pre-pregnancy appearance to their abdomens after having children, were told that liposuction would effectively improve their concerns. Unfortunately, this treatment plan only made their abdomens look worse, leaving behind even more loose skin and / or contour irregularities.

For most of these patients, a tummy tuck would have been a better fit. In this procedure, the loose skin is removed and the weakened abdominal muscles are tightened to restore a flat, smooth look to the abdomen. In many of these cases I incorporate liposuction, both to give the waist a narrow, elegantly tapered appearance and to improve the proportions of the hips, thighs and buttocks and other areas where excess fat commonly accumulates. While liposuction alone would have been insufficient to correct their concerns, it served as an excellent complement to the primary procedure.

In some cases—these patients sought out procedures advertised as “less invasive” in the hopes of achieving the improvement they desired with less expense and downtime. For the right patient, nonsurgical cosmetic procedures such as CoolSculpting® to reduce fatty bulges may be a good fit to help them achieve their goals. But for loose skin and more significant contouring needs, a surgical procedure that includes the removal of excess skin is typically required to obtain a desirable aesthetic outcome.

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For additional information on this Revision Surgery article, please contact:

Sherri Lopez
(713) 799-9999

Source: Sherri Roberts Lopez
http://www.PatronellaMD.com

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Dr. Patronella is board certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery, the only plastic surgery board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties.

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Christopher K. Patronella

MD, FACS, FICS

713-799-9999