Rectus Abdominis Fat Transfer (RAFT) in Lipoabdominoplasty: A New Technique to Achieve Fitness Body Contour in Patients that Require Tummy Tuck.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a new technique to achieve a fit-look in lipoabdominoplasty patients through liposculpture and rectus abdominis fat transfer (RAFT).
METHODS: Patients with a body mass index under 26 and of both genders scheduled for abdominoplasty or body lift were selected for this procedure. Fat was transferred directly to the rectus abdominis muscle after flap elevation during lipoabdominoplasty.
RESULTS: A total of 26 patients were operated on with this technique. No complications attributable to the fat grafting were noticed. All patients had a high satisfaction level with the procedure. Demonstrative cases are shown. DISCUSSION: The RAFT technique is a useful and effective technique to improve results in standard lipoabdominoplasty. Its main limitation is the adequate selection of the patient. The RAFT technique can be incorporated easily to common day practice. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .