What is the risk rate of wounds opening after a lower body lift?

Hello, and thank you for your question regarding wound openings after a lower body lift. This is a great and very important topic to address.

Most patients seeking a lower body lift have a history of significant weight loss, often after being morbidly obese. Many of these individuals also have a history of medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or malnutrition, which can continue to affect healing even after weight loss. According to plastic surgery literature, patients who have lost 100 pounds or more—especially through bariatric procedures like Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, vertical gastric sleeve, or duodenal switch—have about a 20% chance of wound complications. This statistic includes patients who are no longer diabetic or hypertensive after their weight loss.

To minimize the risk of wound openings, there are several critical steps to take:

Increase Protein Intake: You are absolutely correct that increasing protein intake before and after surgery is crucial. Aim for 100 grams of protein daily for at least 2 to 3 weeks after your lower body lift. Protein promotes better tissue repair and healing. Protein shakes and drinks are often helpful to meet this goal.

Minimize Activity: Overexertion, such as getting up and down too frequently or engaging in strenuous activities, can strain the incisions and increase the risk of wound openings. Plan to rest as much as possible during your recovery and avoid movements that could put pressure on your surgical areas.

Wear Compression Garments: Proper support with an abdominal binder or medical-grade compression garments is essential. These garments help reduce tension on the incisions and provide structural support to the healing tissues.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Many surgeons include hyperbaric oxygen therapy as part of the recovery process. This treatment increases oxygen supply to the tissues, enhancing healing and reducing the risk of wound breakdown.

Choose an Experienced Surgeon: A significant factor in avoiding wound complications is selecting a board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive experience in lower body lifts. Make sure they have performed at least 200 body lifts and ask to see before-and-after photos to verify their expertise. An experienced surgeon is more likely to optimize incision placement and tension, reducing the risk of wound openings.

If you are concerned about missing work, you could consider staging the procedure into two surgeries. For example, start with a tummy tuck and then proceed with a posterior buttock lift 4 to 6 months later. This approach may help reduce recovery demands while still achieving your desired results.

Good luck, and I hope this helps answer your question regarding wound risks after a lower body lift.

Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

In our experience with lower body lifts, the rate of having an open wound post-operatively is extremely low, and amazingly, hardly ever occurs. I say "amazingly" because with a very long incision going all the way around the body, one would think that at least some wound healing issues would be the rule, not the exception.   However, that hat not been our experience.  In fact, we've never had to take any patients back to the operating room for "wound openings," also called "wound dehiscence."Occasionally, a patient may have a spitting suture with a tiny open wound (a few millimeters) around it, but this is easily taken care of in the office by just removing the dissolvable suture.Perhaps you are seeing a skewed representation of body lift complications online.  This is often the case, as patients tend to post photos when they have issues, but the vast majority of patients who have no issues tend to not post any photos...Best of luck to you! 

Complications in plastic surgical procedure like the body lift are preventable. Dehiscence is more likely to happen if the patient still has a high BMI, has diabetes, is malnourished or is a smoker. Therefore selecting the right patient is very important to avoid dehiscence. There are also technical aspect to be aware of. Excessive tension has to be avoided. The repair has to be done in layers making the tension be absorbed by the superficial fascia system. Hematoma and seroma collections can be part of the reason for dehiscence. Therefore all bleeding should be meticulously contrôled prior to the closure. Infection should be avoided by a careful technique and preoperative antibiotics, as wound infection could lead to dehiscence. I think you cannot trust a percentage for deciding your odds of developing a wound dehiscence because you have to be evaluated for specific risks that apply to you. You need to be seen and examined before your risk can be determined. If you are an acceptable risk for the procedure an you have an excellent and experienced plastic surgeon, you should have a very low risk of wound separation.