Liposuction in atypical cases

Liposuction has become the most frequent aesthetic procedure, and its indications continue to expand to different areas of plastic surgery. In this article the authors present their experience with liposuction in the treatment of nine cases termed "atypical," for not being purely aesthetic. Included are four congenital lipodystrophies-occult spinal disraphism, osteogenesis imperfecta, congenital lipomatosis difusa, and Klinefelter syndrome-and five acquired ones-posttraumatic lipoma, posttraumatic asymmetry, insulinic hypertrophic lipodystrophy, adiposis dolorosa, and TRAM flap. Particular features of each lipodystrophy are reviewed and details of fat distribution and density are described. We also review some specific details of the technique. On the other hand, we wish to point out the importance of recognizing and correctly diagnosing some specific lipodystrophies that are part of defined clinical patterns and that require an integral therapeutic approach.