A Psychosocial Analysis of the Effect of Body-Contouring Surgery on Patients After Weight Loss

Objectives (Background): Patients are often bothered by excess skin laxity and redundancy after weight loss. Body-contouring surgery offers a solution. This study assessed the psychosocial impact of body-contouring surgery on patients after weight loss. Methods (Settings, Design): In this cross-sectional study, a specifically designed questionnaire developed in collaboration with psychiatric department for our research was used for 43 patients who underwent body-contouring surgery. Data were collected during single visit to the plastic surgery clinic. All the patients had lost 20 kg or less before the surgery and were interviewed at least 6 months after the surgery. The questionnaire was used to compare the psychosocial status of the patients before and after surgery. Data were analyzed appropriately using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results: The participants' mean age was 34 ± 10 years; the sample included 24 (55.8%) women and 19 (44.2%) men (total N = 43). The patients' quality of life improved significantly in the areas of social life (P < .001), job performance (P < .002), and sexual activity (P < .001). Moreover, while 17 (39.5%) patients suffered symptoms of depression before surgery, only 1 (2.3%) patient suffered symptoms of depression after surgery. The overall satisfaction was found to be 62.8%, with mammoplasty being the procedure with the highest satisfaction (66.6%). Conclusion: Body-contouring surgery after weight loss has shown to improve both psychological and social aspects of the patients' lives. Recall bias is the main limitation in our study.