Seroma or hematoma - which is worse? Which recurs more and why?

I am so sorry for your unfortunate circumstances, but seroma and hematoma are complications associated with surgery like yours. The hematoma should not recur, but the seroma may come back, but your surgeon can drain it with a syringe.  Try to stay patient and confident, as you will get better!

The hematoma should not recur at this point. The seroma is a more serious issue which has a higher rate of recurrence. Make sure you follow up with you surgeon so they can monitor your healing at this point and hopefully help prevent a recurrence.

Hematoma is a technical issue that is treated by the procedure you had and does not recur.  Seromas are much worse. You should be concerned about the necrosis, which may not be healed for 6 months.

Sometimes bad things happen to good people. You are over the hump, the fluid has been removed you have drains, they will be removed before you know it. This entire episode will be just a blip in your memory. Your tummy is going to look better then ever. Be careful about straining yourself in any way for the next 3 weeks. Avoid Motrin, Advil, Naprosyn, Aspirin, Ascriptin, any NISADS as they can prevent your platelets from adhering and increase your risk of bleeding. Tylenol is OK.  Keep your garment on firmly as your plastic surgeon advises. Good luck..

Thank you very much for your interesting
enquiry.I am sorry you have had such
difficulty following your tummy tuck surgery.I am afraid haematomas and seromas do
sometimes occur following abdominoplasty surgery and it does sound as if you had
it well treated with drainage.Often
there is no obvious reason why you would develop these complications following
surgery but it does sound as if you are on the right treatment and hopefully
the area will continue to heal well now.I would generally advise you to keep in close
contact with your surgeon for regular reviews so they can check you out and
check that all areas are healing well and that they are happy with your
progress.AR

I just had a hematoma from a patient who fell 24 hours after surgery. Sometime just a generalized oozing (of small blood vessels) will cause a hematoma to form. The hematoma was evacuated and a drain was placed. I have not had a surgical seroma in the past 10+ years and they should be drained also.  With 10-20 cc of sero-sanguinous fluid, the drain could probably could come out and you will not have a recurrence.

I am sorry to hear about the complications you have experienced. It certainly sounds like the situation has been handled;  hopefully, you have been through the worse and will have no further problems. Generally speaking, once a hematoma has been  evacuated (and the source of bleeding controlled),  recurrent bleeding would be very unusual. However, on the other hand, seromas may recur however, given that you have drains in place, it is likely that you will do well. Most important: close follow-up with your plastic surgeon  Who will be your best resource for assessment, advice, and meaningful reassurance. Do your best to stay emotionally even keeled; again, hopefully the worst is behind you. Best wishes for an outcome that you will be pleased with long-term.

I am very sorry to hear your troubles. There are many factors to consider, including extent of procedure and whether liposuction was done at the same time. Both seroma and hematoma can be difficult to manage. If you did have a hematoma, has it been there all 33 days, or did you bleed recently and why?   It sounds like you had a fair amount of fluid build up and it is always helpful to know the timeline from surgery to the present. At this point it sounds like the correct path was chosen and you have had both seroma and hematoma drained.  Follow your surgeon's advice.  Limiting activity can sometimes help, but both seromas and heamtomas can recur. Hang in there!Below is a patient of about your age with a fully healed tummy tuck.