Background: While a cause and effect relationship is traditionally thought to exist between thigh surgery and postoperative lymphedema, the link between obesity-related lymphatic and/or venous disease and post-body contouring lower extremity edema has not been investigated. We hypothesize that patients who experience prolonged lower extremity edema following thigh surgery are predisposed to developing this complication due to unrecognized preoperative lymphovascular disease.
Methods: Fifty-five patients who had undergone body contouring surgery were identified from our prospective registry. Twenty-eight patients completed the Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS), a validated outcome measure of venous disease. Three time points were assessed: pre-weight loss (T1), post-weight loss but pre-body contouring (T2), and post-body contouring (T3). Based on T3 VCSS, patients were divided into 2 groups-a T3 VCSS ≤3 (group 1; N = 13) and a T3 VCSS ≥4 (group 2; N = 15).
Results: VCSS for group 1 at T1, T2, and T3 were 3.31 ± 0.55, 1.85 ± 0.27, and 1.54 ± 0.35 (mean ± SEM), respectively, versus 6.3 ± 1.10, 4.33 ± 0.8, and 6.8 ± 0.63 for group 2 (P < 0.05, P < 0.05, and P < 0.0001). Pain scores at T1 was 0.46 ± 0.21 for group 1 versus 1.1 ± 0.24 for group 2 (P < 0.05). Edema scores for group 1 at T1, T2, and T3 were 0.69 ± 0.29, 0.08 ± 0.08, and 0.15 ± 0.10 versus 1.87 ± 0.35, 1.13 ± 0.31, and 2.13 ± 0.24 for group 2 (P < 0.05, P < 0.001, and P < 0.0001, respectively).
Conclusions: Using VCSS, post-bariatric patients with prolonged lower extremity edema experienced clinically identifiable signs of disease prior to weight loss and body contouring surgery. Thus, careful preoperative evaluation may help identify at-risk patients and aid in managing postoperative expectations.