Bodylifting: indications, technique and complications

Abstract

Bodylifting is often considered a high-risk surgical procedure. There is a widely held perception is that the operation is both time consuming and physically demanding for the surgeon, with, potentially, a long recovery and high complication rate for the patient. The senior author's experience of 16 consecutive bodylift procedures does not reflect this. Fourteen female patients and two male patients underwent Lockwood-type bodylifting procedures at two different hospitals over a 5 year period. Patients studied were unsuitable for a standard abdominoplasty either because of excess lateral abdominal tissue, or had undergone significant weight loss and developed redundant folds of skin in a circumferential pattern around the waistline. The average Body Mass Index (BMI) prior to surgery was 26.7. Mean surgical time and hospital stay was 4.2 hrs and 3.5 days respectively. No patient required blood transfusion. The follow up period was between 3 and 24 months. Levels of patient satisfaction were high and complications few. Only one patient required minor revisional surgery. No major complications were recorded. The commonest problem, seroma, developed in 4 out of 16 patients and was managed by simple aspiration. This study supports the effectiveness of the lower body lift as a procedure with the potential to produce an outcome unachievable by other means with a low incidence of minor complications. © 2008 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons.