["Classical" abdominoplasty]

The term "classical" abdominoplasty includes those procedures designed and performed before the introduction of liposuction techniques. All of these operations leave a considerable scar: the importance of this residual scar makes abdominoplasty the poor cousin of cosmetic plastic surgery. In practice, it should be generally considered to be a functional comfort surgery, which sometimes resembles cosmetic surgery. All wall lesions must be treated during abdominoplasty: retightening of the musculo-aponeurotic plane when it is distended, correction, of more or less localized fat overload, resection of any excess skin. The desire to obtain scars as small and as hidden as possible has led to the development of a large number of techniques, performed with varying frequencies. However, there has been a renewed interest in some of these techniques since the development of liposuction. The abdominoplasty skin procedures can be divided into two groups: localized abdominoplasties, only concerning a limited part of the abdomen, and extensive abdominoplasties, concern all of the abdominal wall and requiring extensive skin detachment and a procedure on the umbilicus. The most classical method of abdominoplasty is low transverse abdominoplasty with umbilical transposition. This operation raises a number of aesthetic problems and one or several defects are fairly frequently observed during objective analysis of our results. It nevertheless provides a real personal gain for the patient, in the way he or she moves and dresses and can even allow weight loss after the operation. This gain is not related to the results observed on photographs. The introduction of liposuction techniques has radically modified the technical modalities and indications for these so-called "classical" operations.