Morphohistologic analysis of fat tissue in areas treated with lipoplasty.

BACKGROUND

In lipoplasty, the ease of fat removal and appearance of aspirated fat may vary considerably, depending on which area of the body is being treated.

GOAL: Fat samples from areas of the body in which lipoplasty is commonly performed were subjected to morphohistologic analysis to gain a better understanding of the fat structure and its clinical implications.

METHODS

Subcutaneous cellular tissue from the back, promontory, love handles, buttocks, upper abdomen, lower abdomen, lateral thigh skin ("saddle bags"), anterior thigh, and inner thigh was removed from 10 fresh cadavers for macroscopic and microscopic analysis.

RESULTS

No differences were found in the deep layer of the subcutaneous cellular tissue from different areas with respect to the characteristics and size of fat globules. At the superficial layer, differences were found with respect to the size, shape, and alignment of the fat globules and the density of the surrounding collagen.

CONCLUSION

When lipoplasty is performed, the morphohistologic characteristics of fat tissue in different body areas should be taken into consideration in determining the surgical approach that will achieve the most aesthetic result. (Aesthetic Surg J 2002;22:513-518.).