Health-related quality of life in patients having undergone abdominoplasty after massive weight loss

Mikko Uimonen; Jussi P Repo; Pauliina Homsy; Tiina Jahkola; Lotte Poulsen; Risto P Roine; Harri Sintonen; Pentscho Popov

doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2020.12.056

Health-related quality of life in patients having undergone abdominoplasty after massive weight loss

J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2021 Sep;74(9):2296-2302. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2020.12.056. Epub 2020 Dec 26.

Authors

Mikko Uimonen¹, Jussi P Repo², Pauliina Homsy³, Tiina Jahkola³, Lotte Poulsen⁴, Risto P Roine⁵, Harri Sintonen⁶, Pentscho Popov⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, Central Finland Central Hospital, Jyväskylä, Finland. Electronic address: mikko.m.uimonen@gmail.com.
² Department of Surgery, Central Finland Central Hospital, Jyväskylä, Finland.
³ Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, HUS, Finland.
⁴ Department of Plastic Surgery, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
⁵ Group Administration, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, HUS, Finland; Department of Health and Social Management, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
⁶ Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
⁷ Department of Health and Social Management, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; Department of Plastic Surgery, Eira Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.

PMID: 33436334
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjps.2020.12.056

Abstract

Background: Due to lack of validated body contouring-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments, the outcomes of abdominoplasty after massive weight loss have been evaluated rather rarely and mainly using generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments. The aim of the current study was to examine, using body contouring-specific (BODY-Q) and generic (15D) HRQoL instruments, the HRQoL, and key factors related to HRQoL among patients having undergone massive weight loss and abdominoplasty.

Methods: Altogether 52 patients who underwent abdominoplasty due to massive weight loss completed the BODY-Q and the 15D HRQoL instruments. The 15D scores were compared to those of age-, gender-, and BMI-adjusted control sample of the general population.

Results: The mean score of the BODY-Q Abdomen scale was 50.7 out of 100 (SD 24.4). The HRQoL of abdominoplasty patients was lower than that of age-, gender-, and BMI-adjusted general population (p = 0.001). Sleeping, discomfort and symptoms, depression, excretion, and sexual activity were the patients' main concerns. Body image and psychological well-being were strongly associated with the perceived HRQoL. The satisfaction with appearance of the abdominal area was not associated with generic HRQoL.

Conclusions: The HRQoL of abdominoplasty patients is lower than that of general population with similar age, gender and BMI. The most important factors associated with the HRQoL of the patients were body image, psychological well-being, and physical function.

Keywords: Bariatric surgery; Body contouring; Postbariatric; Weight loss.

MeSH terms

Abdominoplasty*
Body Contouring*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Reported Outcome Measures
Quality of Life*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Weight Loss*