Abdominoplasty or tummy-tuck is one of the most frequently performed cosmetic operations. And seroma or fluid collection, when you return to the clinic with a feeling of 'water-bed' under the skin layer, is one of its commonest complications. For over 3 years, I have been quilting the tummy skin down onto the rectus sheath to obliterate the space where seroma forms with a Quill knotless barbed dissolving suture in my DIEP breast reconstruction patients, where the tummy tissue is used to reconstruct a breast. The closure of the tummy is very similar to that of a cosmetic tummy tuck.
With quilting, I noticed that the seroma rate was significantly reduced and since incorporating the same technique for cosmetic tummy-tuck patients, I have not looked back. The contour is much more pleasing, the tension across the tummy skin is more evenly distributed and the seroma rate is almost negligible. The only downside is that in some slimmer patients, the quilting can show up as puckering or dimples in the skin; however, these disappear by 10 weeks when the suture is absorbed by the body. There have been several scientific studies in plastic surgery journals which have demonstrated the reduction in seroma with quilting in tummy tucks compared to the use of tissue glue or patients with no quilting.
With quilting, I noticed that the seroma rate was significantly reduced and since incorporating the same technique for cosmetic tummy-tuck patients, I have not looked back. The contour is much more pleasing, the tension across the tummy skin is more evenly distributed and the seroma rate is almost negligible. The only downside is that in some slimmer patients, the quilting can show up as puckering or dimples in the skin; however, these disappear by 10 weeks when the suture is absorbed by the body. There have been several scientific studies in plastic surgery journals which have demonstrated the reduction in seroma with quilting in tummy tucks compared to the use of tissue glue or patients with no quilting.
- Does Quilting suture prevent seroma in abdominoplasty? Plastic Reconstructive surgery March 2007.
- Suction drains, quilting sutures, and fibrin sealant in the prevention of seroma formation in abdominoplasty: which is the best strategy? Aesthetic Plastic Surgery April 2012
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