Gluteal augmentation with fat grafting: the Brazilian buttock technique: 30 years' experience.

The author started injecting large quantities of fat in the breasts, thighs, and buttocks in 1985. The Brazilian Buttock technique was first presented in 1987; since then, The author has been writing and lecturing about it worldwide. In the past few years, the technique became very popular; it has changed the ideal of beauty in many countries. Recently, The author started using adipose-derived stem cell-based therapies for buttock augmentation to improve the results of fat graft survival.

Emerging techniques in aesthetic plastic surgery.

This article outlines the experience of authorities on emerging techniques in plastic surgery that are discussed within this issue, such as mesotherapy and lipodissolve, Russian threads, radiofrequency, and "laser lipo." Readers are invited to analyze the findings and determine whether there is something that could apply to their practices.

Complications of body sculpture: prevention and treatment.

In many countries, lipoplasty is the most frequently performed aesthetic procedure. It has been promoted as a safe, easy-to-learn, outpatient procedure. Although plastic surgeons have developed safety measures to perform the technique, there are serious risks, including death at a rate of 1/5000 procedures. Life-threatening complications include pulmonary embolism, hemorrhage, perforation, infection, lidocaine toxicity, epinephrine toxicity, third space fluid shifts, and fat embolism syndrome. Aesthetic complications include undercorrection (insufficient fat removal), overcorrection (excess fat removal), irregular fat removal with palpable and visible irregularities, edema, hematoma, seroma, local infection, cutaneous slough, hyperpigmentation, vasculopathies, and permanent color changes in the skin. In this article we present methods to prevent and, when possible, treat these complications.

Fat injection: a 20-year revision.

In the last 20 years, several different techniques of lipoinjection have been developed. Nevertheless, a standard procedure has not been adopted by all practitioners. There is no agreement as to the best way of processing the fat to ensure maximal take and viability of the graft. Other controversial issues include the ideal cannula for harvesting and reinjection, the presence of blood in the transplanted fat, trauma, air exposure, contamination of the graft, durability, and fat cell survival. Newly emerging approaches to fat tissue engineering with the use of cultured autologous preadipocytes may improve the technique of fat injection and transplant.

The overlap of lipoplasty and abdominoplasty: indication, classification, and treatment.

The aesthetic and functional treatment of the abdominal region has always been one of the main concerns of plastic surgeons. Some patients belong in a "gray area" where there is no clear indication of which technique should be applied. Individual variations in anatomy should be the first consideration in determining the correct procedure. The Type I abdomen can be treated by lipoplasty alone. Types II, III, and IV are considered to be in the "gray area," because we can use different approaches and techniques based not only on this classification system but also on patients' preferences. Types V and VI can be treated by dermolipectomy with or without lipoplasty.

Sculpting the buttocks after major weight loss.

Liposculpture with skin resection is a good option for patients who need skin resection in addition to fat aspiration. Excess skin is removed without undermining the fat layer, avoiding the seroma and skin necrosis sometimes associated with combined classic abdominoplasty and lipoplasty.(Aesthetic Surg J 2003;23:125-127).