D90. Social Support Correlates with Self Image and Maintenance of Weight Loss following Body Contouring Procedures

Abstract

PURPOSE: Psychosocial support impacts patients’ management and outcomes in a wide range of medical and surgical procedures. This study aims to assess the effects of differing levels of social support on pre-operative self-image and post-operative outcomes such as weight-loss and complications in body contouring patients. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of all patients who presented to our institution for body contouring procedures between 2002 and 2018. Variables studied included demographic information, self-image, social support, and post-operative outcomes. RESULTS: Among the 1,187 patients who underwent body contouring procedures, 30% had self-reported social support, either in the form of a spouse (17.6%), friends (15.5%) or other (4.4%). Patients with spousal support were 22 times less likely to rate their pre-operative self-image as “Very Negative” (p <0.0001) and 5.58 times less likely to rate their self-image as “Somewhat Negative” (p<0.0001) compared to patients without spousal support. Similarly, patients with psychosocial support from friends were 34.81 and 8.25 times less likely to have “Very Negative” or “Somewhat Negative” self-image compared to patients without social support (p<0.0001). Patients with spousal support were 1.93 times more likely to maintain their weight loss at 6-month follow up than patients with other types of social support (p<0.0003). There was no significant difference in the rate of complications between patients with social support and patients without any degree of social support (p=0.470). CONCLUSION: This large-scale study demonstrates the importance of evaluating patients’ social support to guide management and predict post-operative outcomes in body contouring procedures.