Patients will come in for liposuction consultations mention that they have a posterior fat pad in the back of their neck or a Buffalo Hump. A lot will mention that it is hereditary and their mother or grandmother had the same thing. Most of the patients are very self-conscious and try to cover it with their hair and wear clothes that are not cut low in the back. Quite a few of my patients don’t know that something can be done about it and that they don’t need to look like their mother or grandma.
Upon exam, these patients usually have localized fat in their dorsal cervical area where one would see a Dowager’s hump. The treatment for this is liposuction and once the fat is removed, amazally their posture is straighter after their hump is gone.
Here at the Aesthetic Laser Center most of the patients that have it don’t know that it can be liposcutioned off easily. Most have other areas liposuctioned also at the same time. I have had a few patients come and ask about it and have it done just with local anesthesia with out IV sedation.
The cause of abnormal deposition of fat is usually genetic but it has also shown to be associated with antiretroviral treatments in patients with HIV. This is one of the most common areas where fat is deposited when those medications are taken.
The procedure can be done alone or it can be done in combination with other areas.
I usually make 2 incisions to remove the fat evenly, and the fluid used to numb that area will drain for 1 day. The small incisions close in 1-2 days and the back of the neck will have mild swelling for a couple of months. Moderate compression needs to be put on the area for a couple of weeks. The results are immediate, but the final results are usually in 2-4 months.
