What is the Quilting Method and Why Does It Rule out the Need for Drains?

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drainage quilting

6 Doctor Answers | Asked by eam76 in nj

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Quilting for Tummy Tuck, Body Lift, etc

Great Question about Quilting. In my Denver plastic surgery practice, I have been "Quilting" under all of my "Flaps" for Mommy Makeover, Tummy Tuck and Body Lift procedures for several years. Quilting is the process of tacking down any tissue flaps that have been raised with sutures. There are two main benefits from this: Closing down the open tissue plane (we will sometimes call this "dead space" or a potential space). The major benefit here... more

Quilting Sutures Are An Alternative To Drains In Tummy Tuck Surgery

The most common complication after a tummy tuck is a fluid build-up known as seroma which typically is seen weeks after surgery. This occurs from the oozing of fluids from the cut edges of the tissues underneath the skin into the unhealed space that exists between it and the deeper abdominal muscles. A drain is traditionally used for prevention as it will pull this fluid off and collapse the 'roof''of the space down to the 'floor' of the... more

Quilting sutures for Abdominoplasty

I have been using this technique since 1998 and think it is a great addition to the procedure. Instead of using a drain to essentially suck an area closed (think of vacuum sealing food) the sutures sew the space together. With either method there is a chance for seroma to form. Seroma is a fluid collection under the skin (think water balloon.) In reviewing over a hundred of these many years ago we found that chance of seroma was no more than when using drains. As we... more

Quilting sutures make abdominoplasty safer.

Hi. As you can see from our video, we have only recently been using quilting sutures, and they are a big advance. They eliminate the space under the skin where fluid can form (seroma). But we still do occasionally use a drain. see video

Quilting Sutures in Abdominoplasty

An abdominoplasty results in a lot of empty space between the abdominal muscles and the deeper fatty tissue connected to the skin. When this happens the body fills up the space with fluid (that's why drains are so important). As this heals the skin slowly reattaches to the muscles below. Quilting sutures are designed to speed up this process and make the body have less empty space even though the surgery remains essentially the same. Since there is less "space" there... more

Abdominoplasty without drains

The quilting method in abdominoplasty utilizes a series of internal dissolving sutures that close down the space made by elevation of the skin. By closing down this space, a number of good things happen. the first is that it takes the tension off of the skin closure. The second is that there is limited space for fluids to accumulate, and there is less motion of the operated area, which may also decrease the fluid collection process. There are other things that can be done to decrease the... more