As aesthetic surgeons, we have an interest not only in the appearance of our patients but also in their general health. Obesity undeniably has a great impact on both. As radical but effective procedures to treat obesity become more common, as is happening now, our surgical expertise in treating the after-effects of massive weight loss will be in greater demand. This is likely to foster the development of what might be dubbed the “new” field of bariatric plastic surgery . The twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes continue to spread unchecked in the United States. The facts about obesity are alarming and their implications profound. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association ,1 reported that in 1991, 21% of the population — more than 44 million people — were obese (body-mass index > 30), 60% were overweight or obese, and 6 million were morbidly obese. Eight percent of …