Impact of significant weight loss on outcome of body-contouring surgery

Abstract

Morbid obesity in the United States has reached startling proportions, with serious physical and psychosocial ramifications. As the number of patients undergoing bariatric surgery increases to treat this problem, it is expected there will be an increase in the number of patients presenting to plastic surgery offices for body contouring after weight loss. It is imperative that plastic surgeons prepare patients with extreme weight loss as to the risks and complications as compared with the general population undergoing body contouring. In this retrospective chart review, 26 patients undergoing body contouring from May 2001 to November 2004 were reviewed. Only patients who had extreme weight loss, defined as losing greater than 50 pounds, were included in this study. The age, gender, amount of weight lost, comorbidities, tobacco use, and weight-loss method were recorded. Additionally, the type of body-contouring procedure and presence of complications were collected from the records. The percentage of complications in our patient population is significantly higher than reported in the literature for the general population undergoing an abdominoplasty. We believe the increased wound complications seen in our patients can be attributed to the inherent complications seen with obese patients.