History of Body Contouring

Abstract

The evolution of body contouring follows decades of procedures and technologic advances in body shaping. Beginning many decades ago with extensive surgical resections of skin and subcutaneous fat, the evolution was dramatically changed with the introduction of suction assisted lipectomy (liposuction). Further refinement in the technique of liposuction allowed more precise sculpting of the body and, most recently, has evolved to high definition liposuction. Following the introduction of liposuction in the early 1980s, energy based devices were developed to allow non or minimally invasive procedures to sculpt the body. The energy sources include laser energy, radiofrequency energy, ultrasonic energy, and plasma based energy. This evolution has provide the cosmetic surgeon with a variety of options to obtain optimal body contouring in a variety of clinical presentations. The safety and the efficacy of these procedures are the most important considerations in adopting new technology and techniques.