Muscle Repair Failure After Tummy Tuck?

I had Tummy Tuck with muscle repair and Liposuction to the hips and flanks almost 4 weeks ago. I'm still really swollen, especially in my upper abs. Is this normal? I've heard stories of muscle repair failure, and this is one of my biggest fears because I don't want to have to do this all over again. How common is it to have muscle repair failure? What are the signs of muscle repair failure and how would I know if I damaged my muscle repair?

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2 Doctor Answers | Asked by LVoeGucci in san jose ca

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You might have a fluid collection

You should check with your doctor about this and maybe ask for an ultrasound to be performed to look for drainable fluid (seroma) that could be removed and decrease the swelling. Unless you had some unexpected accident, I rather doubt that the muscle repair could have been torn.

Muscle repair

It is not common to have a muscle repair failure without a hernia repair. Surgeons usually put more than one layer of sutures. Residual fullness of the upper abdomen is not uncommon aince this is the region that is tightened the least in abdominoplasty, can exhibiti bunching of the tissues when the muscles are tightened from side to side, and maybe more conservatively liposuctioned when performed with a tummy tuck for fear of causing healing problems from injuing blood supply. Give it... more