Body contouring surgery after weight reduction.

I reviewed the cases of 50 consecutive patients who had a total of 75 plastic surgery procedures after weight reduction. The average weight loss was 126 lb. There were 28 women and 22 men. The 75 operations were abdominoplasty (24), face-lift (18), reduction mammaplasty (ten), blepharoplasty (eight), mastopexy (eight), thigh reduction (five), and arm reduction (two). Twenty-one patients also had adjunctive nonplastic surgery. The average hospital stay was 5.3 days. Seromas were encountered in 42% of the abdominoplasty group as the most frequent complication. Response to a questionnaire showed that 39 patients (82%) believed the surgical results improved their self-esteem; 35 (72%) stated that plastic surgery did not provide an incentive for maintaining their weight reduction.