How safe is TissuGlu for a tummy tuck?

Drainless tummy tuck is the direction the tummy tuck is going.   Why shouldn’t it be, patients really hate drains and if the complication rate is the same, drainless wins.   I predict TissuGlu drainless TT will be one of the hottest things next year and we will start hearing more and more about it.   On a more traditional level, progressive tension sutures are used to go drainless the majority of the time.  I started using progressive tension sutures with the idea of going drainless a couple of years ago.   For the first few cases I did BOTH progressive tension sutures and drains, just to see what I wouldn’t be draining.   There was often more serous drainage than I would feel comfortable leaving and now do both drains and PTS.  IMO the progressive tension sutures improve the scar quality and get the drains out faster, but I’m just too conservative to go without (I would never fault another PS for feeling differently as the seroma rate is very low).    Back to TissuGlu, I did my first drainless TT with TissuGlu this week and was more than impressed to this point.   The flap felt more secure and I’m sure the dead-space is less than with traditional PTS.   We know that motion, friction and dead-space are the recipe for seroma formation and TissuGlu seemed to help these factors.  Update to follow.  

My experience with tissue glue has not been favorable with facelifts.I strongly recommend the drainless tummy tuck, which involved sutures called "Progressive Tension Sutures." After using this technique for 7 years without a single seroma, and I perform about 40 tummy tucks a year, this is the technique that I recommend. Quite a bit of tension can be achieved with these progressive tension sutures which would not be possible with any kind of glue.Plus, with the drainless TT and mentioned sutures, the complication is much lower, there is less post operative recovery time, less pain, and none of the dreaded drains for 5-10 days. And because of the tension that can be placed on these mentioned sutures, the abdomen is tighter.Thank you for your question, and good luck.

I do not use TissuGlu. That isn't to say that I wont, but as of now, I'm not that interested. Though It has substantial promise as an adjunct to drainless abdominoplasty, roughly one quarter of patients could require insertion of a drain at a later time. Most of my abdominoplasties also involve liposuction in a technique described as lipo-abdominoplasty. I would not use TissuGlu in that setting. Even progressive tension suturing techniques may result in seroma formation. As much as we try to avoid the use of drains, if we are creative in the choice of drain and surgical techniques, they are a minor nuisance. I would make my decision of surgeon to be based on results and your level of trust, not on the use of one particular product,