"Vest over pants" abdominoplasty in post-bariatric patients

Obesity has become a worldwide metabolic disease, necessitating appropriate treatment. Conservative therapy has shown lack of success long term on managing weight loss and comorbidities. On the other hand, bariatric surgery has demonstrated effectiveness. Unfortunately, bariatric patients experience significant skin excess, laxity, and ptosis which may lead to postural, functional, hygienic, dermatologic, and aesthetic impairments. These can be corrected only with body-contouring surgery. Among these procedures, abdominoplasty is one of the most commonly performed operations. In 1977, Planas presented his "vest over pants" abdominoplasty, which had several advantages over the previous approaches. In this study, the technique was tested on post-bariatric patients. From 2005 to 2008, subsequent to laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion, a tummy tuck was performed on 35 patients (28 females; 7 males). The patients were followed up for a mean period of 5 years. After abdominal contouring, 22 patients had an uneventful recovery and local complications were reported in the other 13 patients. Several advantages of this abdominal lipectomy method were recorded: minimal infection rate and single flap weight; high vascular safety; excellent matching of the flaps' thickness and scar position on the abdomen; minimal cumbersome maneuver and traction of the tissues; relatively short operating and lead time; and discrete comfort for the assistants and surgeon. In conclusion, the "vest over pants" abdominoplasty in post-bariatric patients has been demonstrated to be effective, fast to perform, comfortable for the surgeon, and safe.