Home Cosmetic Surgery Long-Term Weight Regain Common After Body Contouring Surgery

Long-Term Weight Regain Common After Body Contouring Surgery

Weight regain seen after nadir weight loss attained, with more weight gain in those who had undergone bariatric surgery

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Nov. 27, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For patients undergoing trunk-based body contouring (BC) surgery, long-term weight regain is common, especially in those who have previously undergone bariatric surgery, according to a study published in the November issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Joshua T. Henderson, M.D., from West Virginia University in Morgantown, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare outcomes of consecutive postbariatric and nonbariatric patients who underwent trunk-based BC (abdominoplasty, panniculectomy, and circumferential lipectomy) from Jan. 1, 2009, through July 31, 2020. The percentage total weight loss was assessed at six-month intervals for two years following BC and every year thereafter. Data were included for 121 patients meeting the inclusion criteria.

The average follow-up was 42.9 months from date of BC. The researchers found that 49.6 percent of the patients had previously undergone bariatric surgery. From before BC to end-point follow-up, there was an increase seen in weight of 4.39 ± 10.93 percent and 0.25 ± 9.43 percent among postbariatric and nonbariatric patients, respectively. Once nadir weight loss was attained, weight regain was seen in both groups through end-point follow-up (11.81 and 7.56 percent in the postbariatric and nonbariatric groups, respectively).

“All patients tend to regain weight after achieving their nadir following trunk-based BC operations, eventually surpassing their preoperative weight,” the authors write.

Copyright © 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.