Body plastic surgery: topical questions about aesthetic operations on the body

Aesthetic surgery includes many different surgical interventions that are performed to correct imperfections in the face and body. Among them, body plastic surgeries are especially in demand, for which patients of absolutely different sex and age turn to specialists.

In this regard, especially for estet-portal.com, a plastic surgeon, doctor of the highest category, candidate of medical sciences,  Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons of Russia (OPREH) & nbsp; and the All-Ukrainian Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (VAPRES) Sergey Khaustov answered the most pressing questions related to body plastic surgery. Read the exclusive interview on the site right now.

Which body plastic surgeries do you most often perform?

If we divide patients into categories, we can distinguish two main reasons for appeals: functional and aesthetic disorders. If we talk about dysfunction, then, often, these are patients with postpartum deformity of the abdomen, when there is a divergence of the aponeurosis of the rectus abdominis muscles, and no matter how the patient wants to pump up the stomach, he will never pump up. Sometimes this condition is accompanied by an umbilical hernia or a hernia of the white line of the abdomen, which must be operated on, because the hernia – it's always “bomb” delayed action. Next comes aesthetics: everyone wants to have a pumped up, embossed belly, but someone succeeds, and someone does not. In this case,  we work with a complex of fabrics.

If the patient has good skin turgor and elasticity, there is no excess of it and stretch marks, the skin is able to contract, then we can talk about liposuction or lipofilling.

If there are stretch marks and the skin condition is bad – body surgery is needed, i.e. tummy tuck, hips, buttocks or shoulders, when the complex of skin and subcutaneous fat is corrected, with minimal scars and the best results.

And what surgeries can you combine for effective body plastic surgery?

We combine operations only according to indications. If the patient wants to do the chest, stomach and face at the same time, of course, this is not realistic. Permission for the scope of the operation is given by the anesthesiologist, depending on the patient's health status. If possible, at one time it is possible to perform, for example, plastic surgery of the chest and abdomen, if not – everything is divided into stages. But performing multiple body plastic surgeries at the same time is not always the best option. If, for example, a patient has a large belly, pronounced subcutaneous fat is a clear indication for tummy tuck. But in order to protect myself and the patient, I break the operation into two stages. The first stage – this is liposuction, fat is removed at the waist and above the navel, and after 3-4 months you can remove the so-called apron – sagging skin in the lower abdomen.

Body plastic surgery often involves liposuction. What are the main features of this operation?

I can talk about my experience. My liposuction is always limited to the volume of removed fat up to three liters. Removal above these volumes should imply readiness for resuscitation. Therefore, if the patient insists on removing adipose tissue to the maximum, there should always be photo and video documentation. I warn my patients that I have no right to go further, because it is not safe.

What time of the year do patients most often come to you for body plastic surgery?

Work with the body almost always takes place in the autumn-winter period. In the summer, after any plastic surgery on the body, you need to wear compression underwear, and in the hot season, patients, for obvious reasons, cannot do this. In addition, in summer, patients want to demonstrate an already perfect body, which is why body plastic surgeries are more often performed in the cold season.

How important is the joint management of patients at the stage of rehabilitation after body plastic surgery by a surgeon and a cosmetologist?

This friendship must have existed even before the operation. Often, it is the cosmetologist who initially leads the patient, and when some moment comes that he cannot cope with, he sends him to the surgeon.

Cosmetologists, most often, have skills in the form of, for example, lymphatic drainage, which are needed for preoperative preparation and postoperative rehabilitation of the patient.

Of course, the same cosmetologist, knowing the patient, will restore him much better than the surgeon. That is why I always advocate friendship between cosmetologists and surgeons.