Discussion

Post-bariatric Abdominoplasty: Identification of Risk Factors for Complications

PURPOSE

The aim was to evaluate the complication rate after abdominoplasty procedures performed in a high volume post-bariatric center and to identify predictors of complications.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed and included all abdominoplasty procedures performed between January 2011 and December 2019. Complications classified according to the Clavien-Dindo classification were documented and potential risk factors were statistically evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 898 patients were included. Overall complication rate was 29.8%. Type I complications (minor wound problems) occurred in 15.8% (n = 140). Type II complications requiring medical intervention occurred in 10% (n = 90). Five patients had deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism; others received antibiotic treatment for wound infections. In total 42 type III complications occurred in 36 patients, with re-intervention for wound problems (n = 16), seroma (n = 16), umbilical necrosis (n = 4), and bleeding (n = 6). The weight of tissue resected (p < 0.001), the interval between bariatric and body contouring surgery (p < 0.05), preoperative BMI (p < 0.05), male gender (p < 0.05), diabetes mellitus type 2 (p = 0.05), and smoking (p < 0.05) were important predictors for developing complications.

CONCLUSION

In this large retrospective post-bariatric abdominoplasty series, the overall complication rate is low compared to other published series as a consequence of our completely standardized approach and technique. Our analysis shows a significant linear correlation between the amount of skin tissue resected and postoperative complications. Moreover, the longer the interval between bariatric surgery and abdominoplasty, the higher the complication rate. High preoperative BMI, diabetes mellitus type 2, smoking, and male gender were identified as independent significant risk factors for complications.