Experts at ASAPS Annual Meeting weigh in on ways to make the second time a charm
VANCOUVER, CANADA and NEW YORK, NY (May 5, 2012) – Secondary body contouring, or revising the results of a patient’s prior body shaping surgery, can be deeply challenging for even the most seasoned plastic surgeon. A panel of experts will discuss their suggestions and practices for turning suboptimal results into great ones at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), being held in Vancouver, Canada. “Secondary Body Contouring – Do It to Me One More Time,” will be moderated by W. Grant Stevens MD, and feature panelists Kristoffer Ning Chang MD, Joseph P. Hunstad MD, J. Peter Rubin MD, and Simeon H. Wall Jr. MD.
“Even when faced with difficult revision challenges, there are ways we can create a beautiful, satisfying look for many patients,” said Dr. Stevens of Marina Del Rey, CA. “Our panelists will guide the audience through the methods they’ve found to be most effective for dealing with liposuction revisions and other body contouring corrections.”
“The artistry and skill of plastic surgery is really put to the test when you take on the challenge of improving upon previous surgery,” added Dr. Rubin of Pittsburgh, PA. “It is a far different situation from performing a procedure on a patient who has never had an operation on that part of the body.”
Even when qualified plastic surgeons try to achieve the ideals of “thinner,” “tighter,” or “flatter” for their body contour patients, some outcomes may not be as expected due to unpredictable complications or variables in the healing process, requiring the surgeon to go back in for revision. The greatest difficulty, however, is correcting problems that stem from procedures performed by unqualified practitioners outside of the plastic surgery field. In particular, revision of contour deformities and burns from laser- and ultrasound-assisted procedures can be extremely demanding and may not yield an optimal result, despite best efforts.
“The biggest problems I see are caused mostly by non-plastic surgeons using thermal liposuction methods,” said Dr. Wall of Shreveport, LA.“Working on these cases has been very different from my much more positive experience correcting non-thermal liposuction deformities.”
Some of the key questions panelists will discuss include:
- With more and more patients going to cheaper, less-trained “device” doctors first, will qualified plastic surgeons be relegated to the more difficult position of “cleanup duty”?
- Are powerful thermal devices, when in the wrong hands, potentially creating an entire generation of “one and done” patients who may not be able to have any further body contouring procedures when they need them? How can we best use these devices and how do they affect future surgical options?
- What are the potential pitfalls of performing secondary procedures on difficult cases?
In addition, panelists will define some of the best techniques for performing successful revisions, including the use of fat grafting, SmartLipo, and Cellulaze.
“Fat grafting is one of the techniques I have successfully used to improve suboptimal liposuction results for both simple and complex cases,” said Dr. Chang of San Francisco, CA. “I will be presenting some of my long-term results from the past decade.”
“By performing thorough concurrent liposuction, strong muscle plication, and significant skin removal, we can transform an unhappy abdominoplasty patient into one who’s ecstatic,” said Dr. Hunstad of Charlotte, NC.