Background: Although postbariatric body contouring procedures have the ultimate goal of restoring quality of life, there currently exist minimal data assessing the effect of these procedures.
Objectives: To identify the most important body contouring procedure for quality of life (QoL).
Setting: University Hospital, Online Questionnaire, Germany.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed using a validated version of the internet-based Body Q questionnaire, which was distributed among patients using social media and patient events.
Results: A total of 460 patients (443 female, 17 male) participated and fulfilled inclusion criteria. Of those patients, 191 (41.5%) had already undergone surgery, and the rest served as the control group. Patients in a postoperative status had a significantly (P < .05) higher QoL regarding all body regions. Additionally, patients who underwent body contouring surgery showed significantly higher QoL in regard to sexuality, society, body image, and psychosocial metrics. Abdominoplasty represents the most important procedure for QoL. The control group showed the greatest dissatisfaction in the area of the inner thighs.
Conclusion: Body contouring procedures have been shown to significantly restore and enhance a patient's QoL. Conducting contouring surgeries is specifically associated with an increase in body image satisfaction as well as patient acceptance of certain body regions.
Keywords: Abdominoplasty; Body Q; Body contouring; Quality of life.
Copyright © 2022 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.