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B. Todd Schaeffer, MD

Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2000;2:264-268.

Objective  To describe a modified technique of liposuction that combines endoscopic techniques and a soft tissue shaver for neck recontouring.

Design  Nonrandomized, nonblinded, retrospective evaluation of endoscopic liposhaving for patients requiring neck recontouring in a facial plastic surgery practice.

Interventions  Endoscopic liposhaving was performed on 5 patients undergoing neck recontouring with platysma plication using a small submental incision.

Main Outcome Measures  Subjective evaluation by the surgeon.

Results  Direct visualization with the endoscope ensures complete removal of excess fat while maintaining a small amount of fat over the platysma muscle and on the skin flap. The fat was easily and precisely removed with minimal trauma and edema. There were no resulting facial nerve injuries, dimpling, hematomas, or significant asymmetries.

Conclusions  Endoscopic liposhaving for neck recontouring is a precise and less traumatic method of lipectomy than the current techniques. Direct fat visualization with an endoscope allows more accuracy than the external visualization and palpation relied on in conventional liposuction or direct liposhaving. Using these 2 newer modalities can lead to quicker recovery time. There are no known previous reports of use of these 2 techniques together.

From the Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Disorders, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY; the Division of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY; and the Department of Otolaryngology, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY.