Liposuction and the treatment of nasolabial folds.

We investigate whether the application of liposuction to the nasolabial region is a useful adjunct to the rhytidectomy procedure. We have devised a system to grade the severity of the depth and the length of the nasolabial folds pre- and postoperatively. This grading system was used to evaluate the nasolabial region in 60 consecutive patients who underwent rhytidectomy. We compared two subgroups: those who underwent rhytidectomy alone (Group I) and those who underwent rhytidectomy augmented by liposuction in the region of the nasolabial folds (Group II). A change in the length of the fold occurred in 2% of Group I and in 30% of Group II. A change in depth of the fold occurred in 12% of Group I and in 70% of Group II. These results suggest that suction-assisted lipectomy consistently improves the results of rhytidectomy in the region of the nasolabial fold.