How long will it take for tummy tuck wound separation to heal? (photos)

Question

I do not smoke, I eat pretty well, and am 39 years old. I am 5 weeks post tummy tuck and lipo. At two weeks I had wound separation. I understand it happens to about 20% of patients due to blood flow issues. I've seen my surgeon once a week since then. He has debrided the opening twice. I'm doing wet to dry gauze several times a day. I'm just curious how often this occurs and how long it will take to close up. Also, how do I know it's actually healing? The wound is 4 inches in length and 1 inch wide.

Thomas A. Pane, MD · Answer

20% is a very high percentage.  There are ways to get the risk well under 1%.  In either case, once the wound is there, it will need proper care to keep it clean and allow it to heal.  Expect it to take about 6 weeks.  You will know it is healing as the tissue becomes all pink throughout, which it will with dressing changes and a little wound care.  Then it will gradually fill in and close.  The scar may or may not require a revision once it is completely healed.   Good luck.

Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, MBA · Answer

Thank you for your pictures.  The percentage of in healthy individuals in my opinion and in my practice is definitely less than 20%. It's probably less than 5%. Sounds like a surgeon is doing all the right things. You can tell if it's healing when the measurements continue to get smaller.

Darryl J. Blinski, MD · Answer

Sorry for the wound necrosis. Most case in the amount of necrosis takes a few months to heal completely...You should be seeing 3-d shrinkage of the deformity.

Rick Rosen, MD · Answer

It is hard to tell from the photo you provided, but I would say that a few weeks of debridement and wound care and then maybe you can either have a secondary closure procedure or it will take time to heal secondarily which would be about 4-6 weeks by the size of the wound.

How long will it take for tummy tuck wound separation to heal? (photos)

Answers (4)