Classic versus High Lateral Tension Abdominoplasty in Post-bariatric Patients

Abstract Background: Obesity is a chronic condition with a high prevalence and multifaceted etiologies; it is accompanied by an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Bariatric surgeries (weight loss surgeries) include a variety of procedures performed on people who have obesity. Skin redundancy is a common post-bariatric complication. Abdominoplasty or "tummy tuck" is a cosmetic surgery procedure used to make the abdomen thinner and more firm. The surgery involves the removal of excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen in order to tighten the muscle and fascia of the abdominal wall. This type of surgery is usually sought by patients with loose or sagging tissues after pregnancy or major weight loss. This study is a comparison between Classic and High lateral tension abdominoplasty techniques in treatment of abdominal skin redundancy in post bariatric patients. In our research, we compared between two techniques of abdominoplasty in treatment of post bariatric abdominal skin redundancy, the classic technique and High Lateral Tension technique, the comparison was in patient satisfaction and in post operative complications The study showed that patient satisfaction was higher in classic technique than the High lateral tension technique due to smaller and less apparent scar, while post operative complications were almost the same in both techniques According to our study, we advise plastic surgeons to perform classic abdominoplasty technique in treatment of post bariatric abdominal skin redundancy.