What to Do Before and After Tummy Tuck with Lipo to Prevent Seroma?

asked 2 years ago by spiky_stacey in Vancouver
Latest answer by Darryl J. Blinski, MD
Question viewed 1,661 times
Tags: abdomen, seroma

I go for my full Tummy Tuck with Liposuction in 3 weeks and am wondering if there is anything that I can do before and after the surgery to prevent fluid collection? Can you sit in a sauna after surgery to sweat the fluids out? Does drinking lots of water help with clearing out the extra fluid? Should I be eating a very high fiber diet to pull out all of the excess fluid?

9 answers to What to Do Before and After Tummy Tuck with Lipo to Prevent Seroma?

Avoiding seromas after tummy tuck

As my esteemed colleagues have noted, doing what the doctor tells you avoids most seromas. In this day and age of pain pumps, just because you feel good doesn't mean you can ignore the doctor and start working out or being too active too early. Certain procedures-- redos, older men, patients requiring extensive surgery- may be more prone to seromas because the magnitude of surgery is more. There is some anecdotal evidence that quilting sutures may reduce the incidence of seromas.... more

Brent Moelleken, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

www.drbrent.com

Complete Avoidance of post-Tummy Tuck Seromas is - Unavoidable

Nothing like being the late-comer to a party and agreeing with everything that was said. Regardless of what I do, regardless of how well I do it - there is always a small rate of seromas associated with every Tummy Tuck. But - that number can be greatly increased by poor care of the drains, excessive activity before your are ready and by not following your surgeon's instructions. Your suggestions will NOT reduce seromas. Sitting in a sauna after surgery could dehydrate you and injure the... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Seroma prevention aftre tummy tuck

There is nothing you can do pre or post op to prevent a seroma other than following your doctors strict instructions and leaving the drain in for 7-10 days until it gets down to less than 25 cc's of output per 24 hours. Do that and seroma will be rare.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Preventing seroma after tummy tuck

I'm in agreement with most of the expert posters. You can do very little to prevent the seroma complication before surgery. After surgery the ways to decrease the seroma are drains, compression dressings or binders, limit activity. Best of luck from Miami

Darryl J. Blinski, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Avoiding seromas after tummy tuck

The level of your activity is directly correlated with how much fluid you make. While we want you to walk and change positions often, waiting until your drains are out and your doctor has given you the green light to exercise is key. Nothing will bring the risk down to zero.

Francisco Canales, MD
Santa Rosa Plastic Surgeon

Post-surgical seromas

The risk of seromas can be minimized, but I do not think completely eliminated. I prefer that patients wear a compression dressing after surgery and limit their exertional activity for several weeks after srugery. Combining aggressive liposuction with abdominoplasty can increase the risk as well.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Abdominal paniculectomy technique best way to minimize chance of post operative seromas

With the newer abdominal paniculectomy techniques there is no need for a drain to start with and very few if any seromas. Liposuction is performed on the abdominal paniculous (the skin and fat of the abdomen) to thin it out and make it so that it can be shifted down to the lower abdomen with minimal undermining. The flap of skin and fat is then sutured down to the abdominal muscular fascia. This technique I have used for more than 105 times in the last four years and have only had to put in... more

Carl W. "Rick" Lentz III, MD
Daytona Beach Plastic Surgeon

How best to avoid a seroma after Tummy Tuck?

Hi there- The very best advice I can give you is very, very simple... Follow your surgeon's instructions. That's it- as long as you do what you are asked to do, and you do NOT do those things you are asked to avoid, development of a seroma should be very rare (provided you have also chosen your surgeon well). This is not to say that even the best surgeons don't have a seroma from time to time- just that they should be rare if you follow your instructions carefully.

Armando Soto, MD
Orlando Plastic Surgeon

www.DrArmandoSoto.com

Your body needs fluids for 4 hours after surgery: do not deprive it.

Although some of your suggestions may make common sense, they do not generally result in any lowered risk of seroma formation. In fact I would strongly advise against sitting in a sauna. Certainly within the first 48 hours, it is important to give yourself adequate fluids to avoid intravascular depletion which could result in serious complications. Some surgeons believe the use of quilting sutures may lower the risk and eliminate the need for drains, but I have not found this to be... more