[Isolated cervico-facial liposuction applied to the treatment of aging]

Almost 20 years after its first application, liposuction is today a procedure commonly used on the cervicofacial region. This article emphasizes the importance of the isolated liposuction in the rejuvenating treatment of the face. Liposuction allows the correction of the fattening of the contours, but also of the sagging of the teguments thanks to the skin retraction. The reconstruction of a tridimensional image shows the importance and the constancy of the adipose tissue in the whole face, even in thin ones. The limits of this method are related to the existence of a skin with a sufficient elasticity of a not too important skin excess, and of a sufficient subcutaneous adipose tissue. In selecting the orientation of the tunnels according to the lines of skin tension, we are determining the concept of an orientated skin retraction. In the conclusions, the isolated tunnelization of the face, with or without liposuction seems to be a solution allowing either to delay for several years the time for facelift, or to suggest an alternative choice for patients who refuse or fear the principle of a facelift.