Psychology of Minimally Invasive Surgical Scars

The purpose of this study is to examine the psychological and psychosocial impact of surgical
scars after minimally invasive surgery (MIS). 100 adult patients who are about to undergo
bariatric procedures through the Duke Metabolic & Weight Loss Surgery program will be
enrolled in this study. 50 patients will be randomly assigned to standard laparoscopic
surgery and 50 will be assigned to the percutaneous group. All patients will complete
pre-operative psychometric testing to establish a baseline body-image score as well as a
patient's initial subjective perceptions around surgery and surgical scars. Follow-up visits
will be done at standard of care timepoints - 3 weeks, 3 and 6 months, and 1 year after
surgery. Subjects will complete the same psychometric measures to identify differences in
psychological and psychosocial responses to standard laparoscopic and percutaneous scars.
Patients will also complete a measure on scar satisfaction. The investigators hope to
identify any differences between standard laparoscopic versus percutaneous approaches.