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Can A Suture After Tummy Tuck Feel Like a Tube/Drain?

asked 10 months ago by melduf in ireland
Latest answer by Tom J. Pousti, MD
Question viewed 132 times
Tags: 3 years post-op, drains, sutures

i had a tummy tuck over 3 yrs ago. i can feel a hard object that feels like a tube along my scar. it is in the place where my drain was. i visited my surgeon today and he stated that it was a permanent suture. can a suture feel like a tube. when i stand up it is push my skin outward when i lay down it is again trying to protrude through my skin. i really dont think that it is a suture. the nurse when removing my drain did have some problems. can a suture feel like a drain...

4 answers to Can A Suture After Tummy Tuck Feel Like a Tube/Drain?

+3

Can a suture feel like a drain....

What you are feeling is most likely scar tissue from where the drain was. Sometimes you can form scar tissue around the drain and once the drain is pulled, you can still feel the scar tissue.
Robert Heck, MD

Columbus Plastic Surgeon
+2

Tummy tuck and drains

No I don't think the “permanent suture” will feel like the drain, although a thick scar or fat necrosis might. Most scars however will have softened at the three-year mark. Based on your history and concerns it may be a good idea to reiterate your concerns with your surgeon. If in doubt, a noninvasive ultrasound examination may be helpful to differentiate tissue from drain. Best wishes.
Tom J. Pousti, MD

San Diego Plastic Surgeon

www.poustiplasticsurgery.com

+2

Can a suture feel like a drain?

The sensation that you describe being a hard object along the scar may indeed be due to a permanent suture. It will often feel like it is pushing under the skin. A permanent suture usually feels like a lump rather than a tube. You need to talk to your surgeon rather than the nurse because whatever you are feeling will most likely be able to be removed without difficulty as an office procedure under local anaesthetic.
Isolde Hertess, MD

Gold Coast Plastic Surgeon

www.plasticsurgerycentregoldcoast.com.au

+2

Can a suture feel like a drain.

Honestly, it sounds a little odd. Sutures, even if permanent (non-dissolving) are typically thin and string-like. Drains are usually made of silicone which is a plastic-like feeling material. Even the thinnest of drains are larger than sutures used in tummy tucks. Permanent sutures can occaisionally be felt but it is more like the knots that may feel like a little bump beneath the skin. In any case, if this is so close to the surface of your skin that it is visible a pokes out a bit, it... more
Ronald Schuster, MD

Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

www.drschuster.com

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