Plastic surgery for readjustment of body contours of patients who underwent bariatric surgery during adolescence

Background: Surgical treatments for obesity in adolescents were introduced in the 1990s, resulting in individuals undergoing bariatric surgery, and exhibiting weight loss and dys­ morphic body features. This produced a demand for plastic surgery in order to readjust the body contour. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with morbidity and mortality for these corrective body contouring plastic surgeries in patients who underwent bariatric surgery during adolescence. Methods: Between January 2008 and January 2011, 5 adolescent patients underwent gastric bypass surgery, with a consequent loss and stabili­ zation of weight, and then underwent plastic surgery for correcting body contours. The average age of the patients at the time of plastic surgery was 19.7 years; 3 (60%) patients were female. Abdominoplasty was performed in all patients (100%), crural dermolipec­ tomy in 4 (80%) patients, brachial dermolipectomy in 2 (40%) patients, thoracoplasty in 2 (40%) patients, torsoplasty in 2 (40%) patients, and a reverse abdominoplasty in 1 (20%) patient. In addition, mammoplasty with inclusion of silicone implants was performed in 2 (40%) female patients, whereas the other female patient (20%) underwent mastopexy. A male patient (20%) underwent correction of gynecomastia. An average of 3 surgical in­ terventions were performed on each patient (range, 2–5), and the number of surgical sites was 20. Results: Dehiscence occurred in 3 (15% of the surgical sites) cases, and it was necessary to revise the resection because of residual skin laxity in 3 (15% of the surgical sites) patients. Conclusions: Some factors associated with body contouring plastic surgeries in adolescents were identified and compared with the literature data.