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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : October 12, 2014 4:50 PM IST
Patients who have plastic surgery to reshape their bodies after bariatric procedures are able to maintain significantly greater weight loss than those who do not have surgery, a study indicated. Bariatric surgery includes a variety of procedures performed on people who are obese. 'We are encouraged by the idea that improved body image can translate into better, long-term maintenance of a healthier weight and a better quality of life for our patients,' said Donna Tepper, plastic surgeon at the Henry Ford Hospital in the US.
The study followed 94 patients who underwent bariatric surgery at Henry Ford from 2003 to 2013. Of those, 47 subsequently had body re-contouring procedures. Some previously obese patients opt for plastic surgery - such as face or breast lift, lifts of sagging upper arms, thighs or buttocks - to remove in-elastic excess skin and tissue after substantial weight loss to reshape or re-contour their bodies.
The researchers recorded each patient's Body Mass Index (BMI) both before their bariatric surgery and 2.5 years after the procedure. 'Of the patients who underwent contouring surgery, the average decrease in BMI was 18.24 at 2.5 years compared to a statistically significant 12.45 at 2.5 years for those who did not have further surgery,' Tepper explained.
There is a high incidence of patients who regain weight after bariatric surgery. 'While new findings suggest that aesthetic procedures following bariatric surgeries may contribute to improving their long-term results, future studies will look at changes in BMI after five years as well as how different types of contouring procedures may maintain weight loss,' Tepper noted.
The results were presented at the annual conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Chicago Saturday.
These days bariatric surgery has become synonymous with weight loss. People who can afford it often think of it as an alternative to eating healthy and exercising. Dr Ramen Goel, a bariatric surgeon tells us more about the procedure.
It isn't a shortcut to weight loss
People who believe that it is a short cut for weight loss are generally not the ones who need it. This is for people who have honestly tried to lose weight and tried various gyms, diets, have gone and have lost weight which keeps coming back.
Typically, bariatric surgery is advised for those patients who are at least 25 to 30 kilos overweight with BMI 32.5 or above. People with severe diabetes, hypertension or obstructive sleep apnoea associated with obesity are also likely candidates. Women who have irregular periods and are unable to conceive due to obesity can also opt for the surgery.
Bariatric surgery can be performed on all kinds of patients except if they have an unstable heart condition or untreated angina, or are psychologically unstable in which case they don't understand/appreciate what is required after bariatric surgery and will not follow-up.
Care before and after surgery
Many instructions are given before surgery to ensure that the procedure is safe for the patient. Tests to evaluate fitness before surgery which include heart, lung and kidney check-up, liver function, cholesterol, etc. are conducted. If any correctable problem or deficiency is diagnosed in these tests, then it should be attended to. Most of the people who are overweight by 25 to 30 kg also have a fatty liver. Such patients are put on a diet for one to two weeks before surgery primarily to reduce the fat content of the liver and not for weight loss. Patients are also taught breathing exercises.
After the surgery, patients are discharged either the same day or after 24 hrs. They should be on a liquid diet for about two weeks to ensure healing after which they are advised to be on a soft diet for a while. They are also prescribed supplements of protein, vitamin, calcium and iron to compensate for the deficiency of nutrients during the healing period.
With inputs from IANS
Image courtesy: Getty Images
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