9909-673 Bank
Bank DE, Perez MI.
Skin retraction after liposuction in patients over the age of 40. Dermatol Surg. 1999 Sep;25(9):673-6. 
PMID: 10491054

Comment in:
Dermatol Surg. 2000 Sep;26(9):901.

Department of Dermatology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.

BACKGROUND: A commonly held misperception regarding liposuction in patients over
40 years of age is that the skin will not retract and redrape following removal
of the fat. OBJECTIVE: In order to evaluate tissue retraction in the abdomen,
neck, and arms in patients undergoing liposuction after 40 years of age, the
following study was conducted. METHOD: A total of 58 patients ranging in age
from 40 to 75 years underwent liposuction. Thirty had liposuction of the
abdomen, 20 had liposuction of the neck, and 8 had liposuction of the arms.
Measurements in inches and weight in pounds were recorded before and at 1, 3,
and 6 months after the procedure. RESULTS: Ninety percent of the patients were
women. The rest of the patients were men. The average age of the patients
undergoing liposuction of the abdomen was 55 years old. The average supranatant
fat extracted from these patients was 1725 ml, with an average lidocaine dose of
36 mg/kg of body weight. The patients who had liposuction of the abdomen
demonstrated an average weight loss of 5 lb and a decrease of 3 inches in
waistline 6 months after the procedure. For those patients who had liposuction
of the neck, the average age was 57 years old. The average supranatant fat
extracted from these patients was 75 ml, with an average lidocaine dose of 4
mg/kg of body weight. The patients who had liposuction of the neck decreased an
average of 1.3 inches in circumference without any weight change 6 months after
the procedure. For those patients having liposuction of the arms, the average
age was 44 years. The average supranatant fat extracted from these patients was
525 ml, with an average lidocaine dose of 16 mg/kg of body weight. The patients
who had liposuction of the arms had an average of 0.5 inch decrease in
circumference without any weight change 6 months after the procedure. The
cosmetic results were good to excellent. Our highest lidocaine dose occurred in
a patient having suction of the abdomen and was 71 mg/kg of body weight. No
patients experienced any objective or subjective signs of lidocaine toxicity.
CONCLUSION: Tumescent liposuction of the abdomen, neck, and arms is a safe
alternative for contour improvement with good cosmetic results in patients over
40 years of age.