Abdominoplasty in Anchor with Staged Skin Resection: Evaluation of Outcomes

Abstract

Conventional abdominoplasty in anchor (with “en bloc” resection of the vertical and horizontal skin components) for patients after massive weight loss is related to some disadvantages. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of patients undergoing abdominoplasty in anchor with staged skin resection. This was a retrospective case series based on clinical evaluation of patients undergoing abdominoplasty in anchor with the technique of staged skin resection (first the vertical skin component followed by the horizontal component). We evaluated patient data, postoperative complications, patient satisfaction, and esthetic analysis of the postoperative outcomes using photographs at 12 months after surgery (performed by three independent plastic surgeons through a scale from 0 to 10, in which scores were assigned to the visual parameters). The 24 patients included in this study had a mean age of 42.58 years and a pre-abdominoplasty body mass index of 26.94 kg/m2. The overall mean of complications was 45.8%; the most common postoperative complication was seroma (n = 6), followed by infection (n = 3), dehiscence (n = 2), hematoma (n = 2), hypertrophic scar (n = 2), unaesthetic scar (n = 1), and retraction of the umbilicus (n = 1). Postoperative esthetic evaluation provided an average score of 5.61 for these patients. Compared with the literature about the conventional technique of en bloc resection, abdominoplasty in anchor with staged skin resection showed a similar rate of postoperative complications, and the esthetic evaluation of postoperative outcomes was considered satisfactory.