Would It Be Obvious if You Ripped a Suture from You Tummy Tuck Muscle Repair?

I had my TT on Nov 21 and about 1 week after than I developed a cough and have been coughing ever since, it's finally now going away. I've been wearing my compression garment and have been holding my stomach when I feel a cough coming....but I'm still wondering if I could have ripped a muscle repair suture. I feel fine and my stomach look good....would it be something obvious?

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3 Doctor Answers | Asked by Nikki3334

Doctor Answers (3)
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Tummy Tuck Muscle Separation?

Thank you for the question. Based on your description, I do not believe that any harm has been done. However, your plastic surgeon will be able to reassure you more after direct examination. During this examination a localized “bulge" of the abdominal wall ( with you in the flexed/bent position or straining/coughing) may indicate that muscle separation has occurred. Generally however the muscle plication performed is quite secure and typically does... more

Ripped Suture after Tummy Tuck?

It is not common for a suture to break in the first few weeks. But even if that happened, most surgeons use multiple sutures so that if one breaks, there are others still in place. You may want to mention this to your surgeon.

Muscle Repair

If you feel good and you look good then you likely have nothing to worry about. It is rare for a suture to break. Additionally, we I perform the muscle repair I use a combination of running and interrupted sutures in two to three layers - close to 50 sutures. So, in the unlikely occurrence that one breaks, there are 49 more sutures there holding everything together. Good Luck.