Background and Objective:

Excessive weight loss after bariatric surgery results in skin excess. Body contouring surgery corrects the functional and esthetic problems of these patients, although it has its complications.

Our objective is to identify the associated factors for complications in patients undergoing post-bariatric contouring surgery. Demographics, comorbidities and surgical data were analyzed in a population sample collected among patients operated at our academic center in Medellín, Colombia.

Methods:

Retrospective and prospective data of 627 procedures in 512 patients were collected in a 4 years period. After a bivariate analysis, variables with a p ≤0.25 were selected for the multivariate analysis. Logistic regression was estimated, proved and adjusted to identify independent variables associated with complications.

Results:

Of the 512 patients accepted, 67 procedures (10.7%) had a complication. Mean age was 41.22 ± 9.9 years. Mean pre-bariatric weight and body mass index (BMI) were 111.3 ± 19.6 kg and 46.1 ± 10.8 kg/m2 respectively. Mean post-bariatric weight and BMI were 69.9 ± 11.7 kg and 27.2 ± 4.2 kg/m2, respectively. The variables that were associated to complication in a bivariate analysis were: sleep apnea (p<0.028), outpatient surgery (p<0.017), blood transfusion (p<0.013), pre-bariatric weight (p=0.019) post-bariatric weight (p<0.001), surgical time (p<0.001), hospital stay (p<0.001), postsurgical hemoglobin (p<0.007) and resected tissue (p<0.012). Multivariate analysis evidenced the following independent variables: hospital stay (OR 1.7, IC 95%: 1.19-2.51, p<0.004), and post-bariatric weight (OR 14.72, IC 95%: 3.08-70.41, p<0.001). No cases of pulmonary embolism, Intensive Care Unit admission, nor death.

Conclusions:

The rate of complication of our population study was low. Independent factors associated with complications were hospital stay and post-bariatric weight.

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