Quality of life and predictive factors for complications in patients undergoing abdominoplasty after gastric bypass: A retrospective cohort.

[BACKGROUND] Obesity is a major health risk factor associated with medical complications, such as cardiovascular disease, that may compromise outcomes. Furthermore, obesity may lead to difficulties in daily life, altering the quality of life and generating psychological disorders such as devalued self-image and depression.

[OBJECTIVES] This study evaluated the quality of life and predictive factors of postoperative complications in patients who underwent abdominoplasty after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

[SETTING] Bariatric and postbariatric center, North Wing Regional Hospital, Brasília, Brazil.

[METHODS] Data were analyzed from a prospective registry of postbariatric patients who underwent abdominoplasty from January 2011 to December 2016. Variables examined included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), complications, and comorbidities. Multivariate analyses were performed to assess outcome measures. The quality-of-life assessment was measured with the Moorehead-Ardelt quality-of-life questionnaire.

[RESULTS] One hundred and seven postbariatric patients were included. The mean age of the patients was 41 years. BMI at the time of abdominoplasty (current BMI) was 27.6 ± 3.7 kg/m, and the average weight loss before abdominoplasty was 47.7 ± 17.3 kg. Pre-weight loss BMI (max BMI) was 45.5 ± 7.6 kg/m, and ∆BMI was 18.6 ± 9.3 kg/m. The overall rate of complications was 23.4%. Among the studied factors in the multivariate analysis, amount of removed tissue in the abdomen >2000 g, ∆BMI >20 kg/m, and age >40 years significantly increased the rates of postoperative complications. In our study, abdominoplasty improved the quality of life of patients (mean quality-of-life scores, 2.1 ± 0.9).

[CONCLUSION] The amount of removed tissue in the abdomen, ∆BMI >20 kg/m, and age >40 years led to significantly more complications in patients undergoing abdominoplasty after gastroplasty. In addition, this study demonstrated that abdominoplasty should be proposed to patients with massive weight loss to improve quality of life.