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How Common is Infection with Abdominoplasty?

asked 1 year ago by averlyn in Drums
Latest answer by Gregory Turowski, MD, PhD
Question viewed 447 times
Tags: complication, infection, MRSA

My nieghbor came over today and told me the horror story of her ongoing 4 month MRSA infection after a hysterectomy and now i am terrified. Ive been worried about going under general but this has me ready to cancel the whole thing. How common is it to have a bad infection? I know im in the lower risk group but im still afraid something like this will happen to me.

15 answers to How Common is Infection with Abdominoplasty?

Tummy tuck impossible infection

You can have an infection after any type of surgery that requires an incision. Using your friend's experience in this case, may not be helpful as she had an operation that entered a body cavity. This, in general, creates a higher risk of complications including infection. Abdominoplasty or tummy tuck does carry a 1% or less infection rate overall. If you have concerns about your upcoming surgery, you may want to contact your surgeon directly. He may... more

Richard J. Wassermann, MD, MPH
Columbia Plastic Surgeon

Extremely rare

Infection is very unusual after surgery. In my practice is way lower than 1% of cases. Part of the reason is how we perform surgery and the setting - out of the hospital. The important part of the healing process is also patient’s daily self-care routine. Patient needs to pay a special attention to the instruction given by the surgeon. Otherwise it can result in compromising the results of the surgery or delaying healing process.

Gregory Turowski, MD, PhD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Infection after Tummy Tuck

Data from a large national study showed that surgical site infections, in all all patients across the board (in all types of surgery) is approximately 3%. Infections following tummy tuck surgery in healthy patients are exceedingly rare (approximately 1.5%). Further, out of all infections, MRSA infections represent a small percentage. So, one MRSA infection in your neighbor should not change your mind when 98.5% of patients do not have any infection following a tummy tuck. ... more

Luis Zapiach, MD
Paramus Plastic Surgeon

www.artplasticsurgeons.com

Infection following abdominoplasty

Significant infections requiring IV antibiotics, surgery or admission to the hospital are rare following abdominoplasty. Small microabscesses are infrequent, but do occur. These usually only require probing with a q-tip and removing a small piece of dissolvable stitch under the skin.

Michael Orseck, MD
Greenville Plastic Surgeon

www.orseckmd.com

Tummy tuck and infection

Thankfully, severe infections are not common after abdominoplasty surgery. When they do occur, they may commonly involve small localized abscesses at the incision line which can be addressed with drainage in the office and oral antibiotics.

David A. Bottger, MD
Philadelphia Plastic Surgeon

Infection is uncommon after abdominoplasty

Infection after abdominoplasty is less than 1%, one out of a hundred. The rate can be higher if your medical history includes smoking or diabetes. MRSA infections are rarer still, and may depend on where your procedure is performed. Though there are some community acquired MRSA infections, most occur in a hospital setting. Surgery in an office based facility should reduce your risk. Best of luck, peterejohnsonmd

Peter E. Johnson, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Infection and abdominoplasty.

Abdominoplasty is considered a clean-clean case and it carries a very small risk of post operative infection. It is lower risk than hysterectomy.

Erel Laufer, M.D.
Tampa Plastic Surgeon

Abdominoplasty and Infection

There is certainly a risk of infection with any surgical procedure. If permanent sutures are used, then these sutures can become infected. However, this procedure does carry a very low overall risk of infection when compared with surgeries on the internal structures like the bowel or uterus.

Jeff Scott, MD
Everett Plastic Surgeon

Infection after abdominoplasty is rare

If you are a nonsmoker, not too overweight, and in general good health then the chances of a serious infection with a tummy tuck are extremely small. One advantage of having it done in an accredited outpatient facility by a board-certified palstic surgeon is that it is likely they do primarily cosmetic cases, while hospitals deal with sick people and you may actually be exposed to more germs in a hospital!

Richard Baxter, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Risk of Infection

Infection is potential complication after any surgical or non-surgical procedure. While you can always find horror stories, do not let your neighbour's experience scare you. Assuming your procedure will be performed by a board certified plastic surgeon in a properly accredited facility, your risk of such an relentless infection should be very small. Follow your surgeon's pre and post-surgical instruction, avoid smoking and take care of your wounds as instructed by... more

Martin Jugenburg, MD
Toronto Plastic Surgeon

www.torontosurgery.ca

How Common is Infection with Abdominoplasty?

Call your surgeon to discuss. But a open hysterectomy is worlds different than a TT. Please do not let other's complications fog your judgement. From MIAMI

Darryl J. Blinski, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Infections after tummy tuck

Infections after a tummy tuck are very rare, but their incidence go a little higher when combined with other intra abdominal procedures, such as hysterectomy or bowl surgery. It is totally understandable to be nervous prior to surgery, but I would encourage you not to generalize from a single experience of your friend. You might consider meeting with your surgeon again prior to surgery to discuss your concerns. K. Jacob Cohen-Kashi, MD New York Plastic Surgeon. more

Kambiz Jacob Cohen-Kashi, MD
Long Island Plastic Surgeon

Infection after tummy tuck

Infections in clean cases are a rare occurence and you must remember that! There is always a small risk of infection in any surgery, and ll precautions are made to minimize that risk. If you are looking forward to the procedure don't let your neighbors unfortunate incident and exception crush your spirits. If you are that concerned call your doctors office rather than going through this on your own.

Steven Schuster, MD
Boca Raton Plastic Surgeon

Infection Following Tummy Tucks

There is a possibility of infection following any surgery (cosmetic or otherwise). The rates of infection vary among different reported large series of tummy tucks, but usually are fairly low. I feel that my rate is around 0.5%. This reflects a rate of true wound infection. There is a somewhat higher rate of microabsesses forming around dissolvable sutures which do not require antibiotics, etc.

John Whitt, MD
Louisville Plastic Surgeon

Risk of Infection

An infection is a risk with any type of surgery. After an Abdominoplasty the risk is less than one in a hundred. I personally use antibiotics. I have my patients stay on the antibiotics until the drainage tube is removed. I would not let the risk of infection scare you off from surgery.