Tummy Tuck Q&A
94%
WORTH IT RATING
"Worth It Rating" shows the % of consumer reviewers that stated the procedure was "Worth It" or not. See more RealSelf Worth It Ratings or Add Your Review
Tummy Tuckbefore & after photos
View Before and Afters

Average Tummy Tuck Cost: $7,925

Learn about Tummy Tuck

7,736 people and 863 doctors are talking about Tummy Tuck

Get Free Email Updates

Muscle Repair Failure After Tummy Tuck?

asked 3 years ago by LVoeGucci in san jose ca
Latest answer by Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Question viewed 1,343 times

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?

2 answers to Muscle Repair Failure After Tummy Tuck?

+1

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.
+1

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

Ask a question