BMI Linked to Prolonged Wound Healing in Reduction Mammaplasty

MONDAY, April 10, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For women undergoing primary bilateral reduction mammaplasty, those with higher body mass index (BMI) have a higher risk for wound healing requiring greater than two months, according to a study published in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Jesse I. Payton, M.D., from the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple, Texas, and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of 277 women who underwent primary bilateral reduction mammaplasties to examine the impact of age, BMI, and resection weight on postoperative complications.

The researchers found that the minor complication rate was 49.1 percent, with the most common complication being superficial wounds (42.1 percent); the major complication rate was 4.31 percent. Overall, 11.9 percent of women required more than two months to heal. In a univariate analysis, there was no association seen for BMI with minor or major complications, but BMI was associated with wound healing requiring more than two months, longer operative times, and higher resection weights. There was an association observed for older age with higher minor complication rates. BMI was associated with wound healing requiring more than two months and age was associated with minor complications in a multivariate analysis. No associations were seen for major complication rates.

“Our study is the first to specifically evaluate wounds requiring greater than two months to heal, and to demonstrate the association of BMI and this specific complication,” the authors write. “It is useful to be able to guide expectations and counsel patients as to when these superficial wounds are expected to heal.”

One author disclosed financial ties to Ethicon and Novo Nordisk.