Post-bariatric body contouring surgery after weight loss: Lessons learned from an obesity epidemic in the United States

With the rise in obesity in the United States, there has been a similar increase in bariatric surgery. This has resulted in numerous patients losing significant weight with accompanying circumferential body contouring issues. This has led to an amazing increase in the number of body contouring procedures performed, both traditional excisional techniques as well as new emerging techniques emphasizing tissue preservation, rearrangement, and dermal reshaping. Although China's rates of obesity lag behind the United States, there is a recipe for obesity that will eventually surpass the United States. Thus, China has the opportunity to learn from the United States experience with regards to obesity treatment and contouring procedures after significant weight loss. Time will tell whether China will choose to use similar tissue preservation techniques to address issues of soft tissue ptosis and volume deficiency seen after significant weight loss, make refinements of these techniques, or develop new uniquely Chinese solutions.