Insulin Action, Inflammation Improve After Tummy Tucks

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Is dermolipectomy effective in improving insulin action and lowering inflammatory markers in obese women? By M.R. Rizzo and colleagues. Clin Endocrin 63:253–258, 2005.

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Some overweight or obese people have surgery to help them lose weight. Liposuction (where fat is sucked from beneath the skin) is one common weight loss surgery. Another is the "tummy tuck," where extra fat and skin are cut away.

While losing weight through diet and exercise often improves the body's ability to handle glucose and reduces other signs of inflammation that can signal serious disease, little is known about people who lose weight from surgery. Research results on people who have had liposuction are unclear. Even less is known about people who have tummy tucks.

Why did the researchers do this particular study?

They wanted to know whether people with tummy tucks see changes in how their bodies handled insulin and inflammation.

Who was studied?

Twenty women volunteered for the study. They were 25- to 40-year-old nonsmokers who didn't have diabetes or disease of the heart and blood vessels. All followed a standard diet during the study.

How was the study done?

Each woman was measured and weighed before tummy tuck surgery and 40 days after surgery. They had blood tests to measure insulin, glucose activity, and signs of inflammation. An average of five pounds of fat and skin was removed in surgery.

What did the researchers find?

Blood tests done after surgery showed an improvement in the women's ability to handle insulin and glucose. Also, the signs of inflammation were lower. The women also had a lower body mass index (BMI, a measure of weight in relation to height).

What were the limitations of the study?

Only women were studied, so the results may not apply to men. Also, the participants were all similar: they were fairly healthy without known diabetes or other diseases, and they were not taking any cholesterol or diabetes drugs. The results may not apply to people who aren't as healthy.

What are the implications of the study?

Fat is an active tissue that produces hormones and has effects throughout the body. Removing fat, by diet, exercise or a tummy tuck, improves the action of insulin and reduces the signs of inflammation in the body.

More research should be done to find out if a tummy tuck reduces the chance that a person might develop disease of the heart and blood vessels.