Could I Have Tore my Internal Sutures 8 Days After my Tummy Tuck?

I had to go have a scan at the ER to check for a blood clot 8 days after surgery. I told the radiologist I could not lay flat but he insisted I had to. I asked him to slowly lay me back and I would try..He layer my halfway back then dropped me flat on the table. It felt as though all my sutures ripped apart. I screamed!!!! The pain afterwards were herendous and I had to have my stomach drained days later and it was dark red blood. I'm so scared my sutures have ripped a part. I am now 10 wks out.

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6 Doctor Answers | Asked by luvinmy3kids

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Tummy Tuch Suture Dehiscence (rupture)

Dear Luvinmy3kids, I am sorry that you had to go through this awful experience at the ER. Deep Tummy tuck sutures are normally strong enough to withstand tension and so their rupture is not common. Could it happen? Yes. According to what you have described, it seems that the sutures cut through the tissue causing bleeding, hence the dark blood drained from your abdomen. Consequently, pain will result from the tearing that may have... more

Broken internal sutures after tummy tuck

I'm sorry to hear that you have had such a difficult time after your surgery. It is possible to have popped your sutures from your description. Unfortunately even if you did, there is nothing you can really do about it now. Follow your surgeon's instructions and hopefully you will do fine.

Tearing tummy tuck sutures

There have been a number of questions related to this type of problem and whether some activity could result in tearing or disruption of the muscle tightening portion of the tummy tuck procedure. First of all I am sorry you had a bad experience with the radiologist. I am glad though that the test was negative for the blood clot. I have performed quite a few tummy tucks over the years and I have never heard of a situation where the muscle fascia plication was disrupted by anything... more

Ralph R. Garramone, MD

7 reviews

Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon

Damage to Abdominoplasty Sutures is Rare

It would be very rare to break the internal sutures that most surgeons use to repair the abdominal wall and use as deeper sutures to bring the incision together. When patients report a tearing sensation, it is often the tissues themselves that have stretched or torn slightly internally. This generally heals fine, but can be painful ( as you found out) and can cause some bleeding. When a suture breaks, it is not a subtle thing. Most patients hear and feel an actual pop... more

Tearing tummy tuck sutures is rare

Hello, The sutures placed both for the abdominal wall tightening as well as to close the lower incision are usually much stronger than the tissue they are placed into. That is, you are more likely to "cheese wire" the suture partially through the tissue that it is in rather than break the suture. This is also why the pain and sometime additional bleeding is seen when such events as you describe occur since the suture acts almost like a small cutting instrument partially... more

Sutures Disrupted After Tummy Tuck?

I'm sorry to hear about the painful experience you have had after tummy tuck surgery. Generally speaking, your plastic surgeon will be in the best position to evaluate the integrity of the abdominal wall plication sutures. Also, generally speaking, it would take significant force to disrupt the sutures used to re-approximate the rectus muscles. It is possible that the pain you experience was related to the tummy tuck incision line that was stressed when you were flat on the... more