Body Lift: An Account of 200 Consecutive Cases in the Massive Weight Loss Patient

Abstract

Background:The epidemic of obesity in the United States has led to a rapid increase in the number of bariatric procedures performed over the past several years. The dramatic changes to the torso following massive weight loss are only partially addressed by routine procedures such as abdominoplasty and liposuction. Circumferential body lifts or simultaneous abdominoplasty, thigh, and buttock lifts are becoming the method of choice for treating the postbariatric condition. In this article, the authors review the senior author's experience of 200 body lifts with massive weight loss individuals. Methods: The charts of 200 consecutive body lift patients were reviewed for complications and other variables. The preoperative markings, current surgical technique, and postoperative care are described. The patients were classified into three types according to their body mass index at the time of surgery. Type I individuals had a body mass index less than 28, type II individuals had a body mass index between 28 and 32, and type III individuals had a body mass index greater than 32. Results: Type I and II patients in many instances achieved a nearly ideal body contour. Type II and III individuals also had a significant functional and aesthetic improvement but were more likely to have complications. The overall complication rate was 50.0 percent. The most frequent complications were skin dehiscence and seroma formation at 32.5 percent and 16.5 percent, respectively. Conclusions: The body lift very effectively addresses the functional and aesthetic concerns of the massive weight loss patient. Careful patient selection and education are essential to a good outcome. (Plast.

Cirurgia do contorno corporal no paciente após perda ponderal maciça: experiência de três anos em hospital público secundário

“…Preconiza-se desde o uso de compressão local pós-operatória aos recentemente criados dispositivos de fluxo de gás ionizado de alta energia com intuito de interromper o extravazamento capilar de sangue e linfa [41][42][43][44] . Entretanto, ainda não há prevenção ideal além do cuidado na manipulação tecidual para evitar dissecação e lipólise excessivas.…”

Circumferential Contouring of the Lower Trunk: Indications, Operative Techniques, and Outcomes—A Systematic Review

“…Contrarily, surgery on smokers was reported in 10 studies [10, 27, 31, 35, 39, 41-43, 47, 48]. Four studies each included surgery on patients with high blood pressure [21,35,39,43] and diabetic patients [21,35,43,47].…”

“…-Two-step positioning in the supine position first, then prone [4,5,19,27,33,40,46]; -Two-step positioning in the prone position first, then supine (the most commonly reported technique) [9, 10, 14, 15, 20-22, 36-39, 42, 43, 48]; and -Three-step positioning, with the patient supine and in two lateral decubitus positions [6,23,26,34,35,47,49,50]. This installation was chosen for better control of the lateral thigh lift and when lateral thigh resection was required [49], and was used in the USA [6,23,26,34,35,49,50] and UK [47].…”

“…The most frequently reported indication was massive weight loss [10,15,19,20,22,27,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] secondary to bariatric surgery or dieting, which created excess circumferential skin of the lower trunk. Posteriorly, belt lipectomy and derived techniques better treated hips and back rolls, whereas lower body lifts better treated buttocks and lateral thigh ptosis [33].…”

“…Markings were usually made while patients were standing [4,33,[36][37][38]43] and completed in the supine position [34,35,47]. ''Pinch tests'' [4,21,27,42,43,46,47] were used to estimate the amount of tissue to be resected.…”