Hello,There is a trend toward not using drains after tummy tucks. Their purpose was supposed to help the skin (and remaining fat under the skin) adhere to the abdominal muscles, and close the space that was created by the tummy tuck. A vacuum is created by the drain and fluids escape until the space closes and seals itself. In actual practice, this can takes 3 days to 3 weeks, on average about a week. Sometimes it never happens, with a significant amount of fluid being produced daily. The reason fluids are produced are two-fold: movement and bacterial contamination. Essentially, the more you twist and bend, the more the skin will glide across the muscle, effectively preventing the sealing of the two surfaces together. As time goes on, eventually bacteria contaminate the tissues, gaining access from the drain itself. Today's modern tummy tuck utilizes special sutures or stitches that both help tighten the skin and fix it to the underlying muscle, known as 'quilting' or 'progressive tension' sutures. These sutures prevent the need for drains, enhance the tightening effect of the tummy tuck on the skin, especially above the belly button, and virtually eliminate the most common complication after tummy tuck surgery, the seroma. This technique is being adopted more and more by plastic surgeons, but many still use drains unfortunately. If you are interested in avoiding them, go on a few consults with surgeons that don't use them. Best of luck!
