Prevention of Umbilical Sagging After Medium Definition Liposuction.

[BACKGROUND] The loss of the umbilical vertical axis, causing a horizontal shape deformity after liposuction, is a current aesthetic issue. The use of energy devices, such as LASER and VASER, has been advocated as an option for improving skin retraction, but no data are available on the prevention of umbilical sagging.

[OBJECTIVES] The authors sought to describe a technique for preventing umbilical deformities after medium definition liposuction employing suction-assisted liposuction.

[METHODS] Over a period of 31 months, 62 patients underwent medium definition liposuction with direct needle fixation of the umbilical stalk to prevent horizontal umbilical deformities. All patients underwent surgery performed by a single surgeon (G.B.). All patients underwent objective measurements of the umbilical shape before and after the procedure utilizing digital image measurements by Mirror Image software, version 6.0 (Fairfield, NJ). Statistical analysis was performed with IBM SPSS Statistics V26. The mean age of the patients was 28.8 years. The follow-up evaluation was performed 2 weeks and 9 months postoperatively.

[RESULTS] Over a period of 31 months, 60 patients (96.7%) who underwent abdominal etching liposuction showed maintenance of (n = 9, 14.5%) or improvements in the umbilical shape 9 months postoperatively (n = 51, 82.2%, P < 0.05). Two patients (3.2%) experienced worsening of the umbilical shape after surgery despite suture fixation.

[CONCLUSIONS] Horizontal shape deformities of the umbilicus after liposuction can be improved by utilizing direct needle fixation of the umbilical stalk. The approach has been shown to be effective, safe, and reproducible for the prevention of umbilical sagging in selected patients.