Is a wet to dry dressing after tummy tuck required to treat an infected incision?

Question

Hi i had a tummy tuck 10 days ago. My incision ended up getting infected and opening my doctor suggested to do a wetting dry dressing. Is this the normal thing to do? How long does it usually take to close back up?

Daniel Barrett, MD · Answer

Dear this type of wound is not uncommon after tummy tuck. It is usually caused by poor blood flow. I would suggest you to consult your plastic surgeon, follow your surgeon's instructions and keep your wound clean and covered. It can take few weeks or months for wound to fully heal. Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Tim Sayed, MD, MBA, FACS · Answer

Sorry to hear you are having some healing issues, but it is not that uncommon for some areas in the abdominoplasty incision to experience delayed healing. This is usually due to either blood supply compromise to the skin edge (as a function of having tissue separated and removed during surgery), or tension on the closure, or both. Wet-to-dry gauze dressings are a tried-and-true way of helping wounds clean up and close; the gauze should be the woven kind and be unfurled to contact the surface texture of the wound so that when it is removed, it cleans the wound and removes bacteria and particulate sloughing tissues that need to come off for the healthy tissue to fill in the space. Other options for larger wounds include negative pressure wound VAC devices. Be sure to follow your surgeon's instructions. If there is evidence of actual infection, your surgeon would need to put you on antibiotics briefly but once the wound is starting to fill in and looks clean, wet-to-dry or other topical wound care options will usually get the wound to close up. Later, if the scar is wide where the open area was, it can often be easily revised under local anesthesia or improved with laser treatment.

Curtis Wong, MD · Answer

are more common than surgeons like to admit.  When the wound separates, it will become colonized with bacteria (normal - not bad) and using wet to dry dressings are standard to help remove any dead tissue and provide a moist environment for wound to heal.  It will heal.  Your surgeon should be monitoring you weekly to ensure you do not need forma debridements in the office.

M. Jude LaBarbera, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question.  There are times, whether it be due to wound infection or wound dehiscence, that dressing changes are required.  Wet to dry dressing changes are an excellent way to remove unhealthy tissue and allow the wound to heal.  The duration of time it takes to heal in this manner is dependent upon the size of the opening, the depth of the wound, along with other variables such as the patient's nutritional status, if they smoke, etc.  This should not compromise your final result.

Is a wet to dry dressing after tummy tuck required to treat an infected incision?

Answers (4)

Answer: Wet to Dry dressing changes

Answer: Wet to Dry dressing changes

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Is a wet to dry dressing after tummy tuck required to treat an infected incision?

Answers (4)

Answer: Wet to Dry dressing changes

Answer: Wet to Dry dressing changes

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Everything you need to know about Tummy Tuck

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.