Contouring the abdomen of women who have had children has always been a favorite operation of mine. While I have always been pleased with the results of a traditional (e.g. standard, regular) abdominoplasty, about three years ago I switched to primarily doing lipoabdominoplasties, and have never been happier with the results. I am able to achieve results with this operation that are simply not possible with a traditional abdominoplasty. Surgeons who are performing this operation understand how different this is from the regular abdominoplasty. This operation was developed by group of Brazilian and French plastic surgeons. I saw them demonstrate this technique at the Baker Gordon meeting in Miami, but they also speak at other meetings in this country. I have included a link with more information below. I truly believe that for most women, this is a better operation. And, there is no doubt in my mind that I can achieve results with the lipoabdominoplasty which are simply not possible with a traditional abdominoplasty. Let me explain the difference. In a traditional abdominoplasty, the primary goal is skin removal and muscle repair or repositioning. Some surgeons will incorporate some liposuction in the flanks or sides of the abdomen, but this does not equal a lipoabdominoplasty. In the traditional operation, all the skin of the abdominal wall is lifted up off the muscles, and this changes the blood flow to the skin. It is not safe to liposuction the skin that is lifted up because this can cause severe problems with healing. The lifting up of the skin is necessary in order to move it and stretch it downward in order to remove the excess skin of the lower abdomen. The approach of the lipoabdominoplasty is very different. First, liposuction of the entire abdominal wall is performed, so that the fat layer can be thinned out beneath all the skin of the abdomen. This liposuction loosens the skin in such a way that all the skin of the abdomen does not need to be lifted up in order to remove the excess skin. Then, a very narrow segment of the skin in the midline of the abdomen is lifted up to expose the muscles that need to be repaired. But almost all of the skin that is left behind has not been lifted up. Instead, the fat beneath it has been thinned out with liposuction. The result of this is a much improved contour of the abdomen through the liposuction. And, because a better blood supply has been preserved to the skin, there is a lower incidence of healing problems.