Liposuction to improve the dorsocervical fat pad in esthetic need: Anatomical study and clinical case series.

[BACKGROUND] Patients are undergoing surgery to relieve the prominent dorsocervical fat pad because of their esthetic needs.

[OBJECTIVE] To determine their clinical needs, it is necessary to research the clinic, radiography, and anatomy of dorsocervical fat pad.

[METHODS] The occipital fat thickness, dorsal fat thickness, and the length, width, and thickness of the dorsocervical fat were measured through MRI imaging. Body projection position were recorded. The correlation between the body mass index and dorsocervical hump was analyzed. Anatomical and histological studies of cadavers with a dorsocervical hump were performed. The liposuction for dorsocervical fat pad was introduced and patients were followed up.

[RESULTS] In measurement, the MRI imaging of 109 patients were evaluated. The average length, width, and thickness of the dorsocervical fat pad were 114.47, 89.24, and 23.46 mm, respectively, and it is commonly located from the 3rd cervical vertebra to the 3rd thoracic vertebra. The average dorsocervical ratio was 151%. 43.1% patients had a dorsocervical hump. Based on the protrusion degree, the dorsocervical fat pad was classified into three types. The dorsocervical hump severity had a low correlation with obesity. In anatomy, 4 cadavers were dissected. The histological staining indicated that two layers of fat pad constituted a dorsocervical fat pad. As for treatment, 34 patients underwent liposuction to improve the dorsocervical contour, all of them reported satisfactory outcome.

[CONCLUSIONS] The histological manifestations and morphological measurement of dorsocervical fat pad is researched. Besides, liposuction was applied in 34 patients with dorsocervical hump, and had received satisfied outcome.