My Doctor Aspired Fluid but Nothing Came Out - What Now?

Any lump or bump or fullness may be due to fluid (sermoa, hematoma, etc), swelling, retained fat, failure of diastasis repair, etc.  So, there are many issue which you may have.  If you had a sermoa or hematoma, fluid should have been aspirated.  However, sometimes the fluid is deep or hard to detect and an Ultrasound or CT scan is needed to identify it.  If this is the case, a radiologist can use the Ultrasound to direct the needle directly into the fluid to drain it.  If you only have swelling, then it should go down over time.  If you have retained fat, you have need some supplemental liposuction after all the swelling is resolved and the tissues have settled.  

 

Good Luck.

Persistent distention after tummy tuck can be caused by quite a few things.

The most commmon is a seroma. Other causes include retained fat, hematoma, abscess, failure of diastasis (muscle) repair, hernia, etc. If your doctor has attempted an aspiration and nothing has come out, a diagnostic study such as an ultrasound or CT scan should shed some light to the problem. If there is a fluid collection, you can even get it aspirated or a drained placed during the diagnostic study.

Good luck.

If you still have a protruberant abdomen 4 months after abdominoplasty, a number of things can be contributing to this look.  you may have a seroma, and I agree that you should get an ultrasound to determine if this is the cause.  If there is no fluid, you may have a fatty abdomen at the lower aspect, you may have laxity of your abdominal muscles, or you may have scar tissue.  You need to be evaluated by your Plastic Surgeon to discuss your options.

Typicall we will use needles like he did looking for a seroma or fluid of some sort.  Four months out you typically would have felt a swooshing sensation if there was fluid in there.  Some people can have persistent swelling and it has nothing really to do with anything that you can poke into to drain.  Often, some are fuller than they thought prior to surgery but this if for the heavier framed patients.  Difficult to tel if that's your case.  Best wishes,

Thank you for your post. Seromas can be painful and cause a cosmetic deformity, as well as sometimes leak. The whole point of drains is to keep a seroma from happening in the first place. If a drainless procedure was performed, and you had a seroma, or you had drains that were pulled and you subsequently had a seroma, then you should be drained, otherwise a capsule builds around the fluid making it permanent. If a capsule builds around the seroma (pseudo bursa or encapsulated seroma) then the only way to remove the seroma is to surgically open the areas and excise the capsule, and close over drains to prevent another seroma from happening. If the seroma is encapsulated and is tight and painful, then it can be confused with just swelling or fat. An ultrasound is useful in distinguishing these and identifying the extent of the seroma. If the seroma is not yet encapsulated, then it is usually loose and has a 'fluid wave' or water bed type feel. Occasionally, a seroma can also become infected, especially if a permanent braided suture was used. This will have a hot, red appearance, and will eventually open up. I have never seen an infection from sterile aspiration of fluid.Best wishes,Pablo Prichard, MD

You may have a "big stomach" after a tummy tuck from 1) seroma, a fluid-collection, 2) bulging from abdominal content, or 3) residual upper abdominal fat.  You should have ultrasound to make you sure that your fullness is not secondary to seroma.  If it is, the fluid can be aspirated under ultrasound-guidance and you should wear a compression garment and limit activities afterwards. 

Many things may cause persistent fullness following a tummy tuck. Depending upon the specifics of the procedure this could be something as simple as swelling or a collection of fluid (seroma). Other causes which are less common include a loosening of the muscle repair (usually from a broken suture) or inadequate removal of fat/tissue. If aspiration does not remove any fluid but a seroma is still considered, an ultrasound may be performed to identify the fluid and even assist in aspirating it. If a large amount of liposuction was performed at the same time, it can take several weeks before the "fullness" dissipates.

Regarding: "My Doctor Aspired Fluid but Nothing Came Out - What Now?
i got tummy tuck four months ago....but my stomach look really big after taking a needle to aspire fluid nothing came out my doctor told me to wear my garment again to see whats going on if it will come down or not..im really scared it will stay that way...."

At four months after surgery, it would be unusual to have a fluid collection (seroma) but not impossible. Trying to remove it with syringe aspiration is not unreasonable. If that did not work and your surgeon still thinks you may have fluid, he can refer you to the hospital radiology dept for a ultrasound with, if needed, needle guided drainage of the fluid collection. Another possibility that may need to be considered is failure of the muscle repair. You need to discuss all these possibilities with your surgeon.

Dr. Peter Aldea

Obtain a scan to see if there is a fluid/air level in the subcutaneous plane. Than aspiration under radiologic scan can be done. From MIAMI DR. Darryl j. Blinski

If there is swelling caused by free fluid in the abdomen (a seroma) it is easily removed in the clinic by putting a needle in.  However, if nothing comes out, this either means that there was no free fluid and it was just swelling in the tissues (or fat) or that the needle did not hit the right spot.  Either way, I would not be too concerned at this stage.  Whether there is free fluid in the form of seroma, or generalised swelling, it will subside on its own with time.  It often takes many months for the swelling to subside following abdominoplasty, so there is still room for improvement at 4 months.

Try not to overdo it and stay positive.  Good luck.