title: Body taping for contour surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preoperative marking is of primary importance in body contouring and when precise simulation of skin excisions is difficult. Because the "cut as you go" principle can be delicate, especially in patients after massive weight loss, a simple and quick method is needed for preoperative planning. We suggest an approach that helps visualize the optimal skin incision lines and simulates the postoperative result by body taping.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve patients who underwent abdominal contouring, including classic and vertical abdominoplasties as well as dog ear and scar revision, were prospectively analyzed. The skin to be excised was preoperatively folded, taped, and then marked. The area marked was measured and compared with the actual intraoperatively resected area and the postoperative result was evaluated after 1 year by the patients and three surgeons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With body taping, an 83% congruence between the preoperative planning and the surgery was obtained and only two patients had additional skin resected. No wound dehiscence and flap necrosis occurred and patients as well as surgeons scored the final body contour positively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Body taping is a simple, quick, and economic method for planning contour surgery with high accuracy as demonstrated by the low rate of intraoperative changes of the planned resection and low complication rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, University Hospital of Basel, 4031, Basel, Switzerland. daniel.kalbermatten@bluewin.ch
authors.forename: Daniel Felix
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Kalbermatten
authors.forename: Reto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wettstein
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Erba
authors.forename: Ulrich Michael
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Rieger
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pierer
authors.forename: Wassim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Raffoul
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015187:Lipectomy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D050507:Subcutaneous Fat, Abdominal / Q000601:surgery; D053832:Surgical Tape; D015431:Weight Loss