Chicago - Three studies that assess the importance of pre-operative screening for patients seeking body contouring after massive weight loss were to be presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Plastic Surgery 2008 conference in Chicago, reports Medical News Today.
The studies examine demographic factors, such as gender, failure to meet body mass index (BMI) goal, and loss of weight through diet and exercise, that could affect complication rates.
The first study examined 449 patients to determine whether undergoing a single body-contouring procedure before reaching BMI would affect complication rates. The study found that being obese did indeed increase complication rates.
A second study examined 435 women and 48 men to assess whether gender is a factor in complication rates. The results show that men are at a 12.5 percent higher risk for hematoma and 25 percent higher risk for seroma, compared with 4.1 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively, for all patients.
Finally, the authors examined whether there were complication differences in patients who lost more than 50 pounds via gastric bypass surgery (449 patients) as opposed to those who did so through diet and exercise (29 patients). The study found no significant differences in complication rates for these two groups.
