What Causes Fluid Above the Belly Button After a Tummy Tuck? Does This Go Away After Being Drained?

Occasionally, after the drains are removed, you can accumulate some fluid under the skin.  In most cases, this is a seroma.  Most of the time, your surgeon can drain this with a small needle in the office.  However, occasionally, you will need to go to the radiologist to have it drained with ultrasound guidance.  It will not effect your final outcome.

 

Good luck.

   A supraumbilical fluid collection after tummy tuck should be drained until it does not reaccumulate.  The binder should be worn at all times as instructed.  A fluid collection that remains has the ability to worsen the contour.

The fluid that accumulates after a tummy tuck is related to the lymphatic drainage system of the abdomen. To perform a tummy tuck, the upper abdominal skin is elevated off the abdominal muscle layer. The lymphatic vessels exist in this surgical plane and thus many are disrupted during the course of the operation. Leakage can occur simply due to the disruptions in these little vessels. On top of this, the surgical manipulation of the skin, fat, and muscle creates a large inflammatory response which dilates blood vessels, brings in much more fluid to the area and thus the entire area swells. If fluid collects in the space between the muscles and the fat, we call this a seroma. Initially, the drains placed during the operation remove this fluid, but after the drains are removed, this fluid can continue to accumulate and may need an aspiration. For swelling within the tissues, compression garments, lowering salt intake, and time can help. As the healing process continues and the inflammatory response subsides, the swelling eventually decreases. This process can take several months to complete.