I just had a tummy tuck 16 days ago and I'm experiencing wound dehiscence on my incision. What do I do? Will it affect my scar?

Question

I went to my surgeon immediately when I noticed. He told me this sometimes happens. He said it will heal itself and just be a neusence for a few weeks. His instructions were to shower, dry the area, put some zinc gauze on it, and cover it with a pad to keep the drainage off my clothes. He said to do this once per day. Is there anything else I should be doing? Can I live normally? I feel the need to be hunched over to stop it from opening anymore. How long until the drainage should stop? Thank you!

David Shifrin, MD · Answer

I would recommend seeing your surgeon frequently until the wound is healed. You will likely need an in office debridement (minor procedure to remove the tissue that's not healthy looking) and packing for 4-6 weeks. In the end, the scar will be fine. If it's not ideal, you can have it revised under local in the office at 3 months. Hang in there!

Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, MBA · Answer

Thank you for your picture. I'm sorry that you're going through this. Your surgeon is right it can happen at times. Slightly hunching over will not prevent for opening up any further. It does need to be debrided and it will heal on its own by filling from the bottom up. The scar can be revised at a later date

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD · Answer

The area where your wound resides is a place where there is very poor blood supply immediately after in abdominoplasty. Usually these will heal with time but it may take several weeks. A scar revision in the future may or may not be necessary.

Jourdan Gottlieb, MD · Answer

Sorry to read about this, thanks for your question and photos.You were certainly correct about calling your surgeon to begin treatment of this complication. Your instructions seem appropriate.  Hopefully they are accompanied by regular follow up visits to the surgeon for close follow up. There may be needed some trimming of unhealthy tissue--it looks like there is some in the posted photo. Chances are that the scar will be 6 weeks or so behind the other side in healing. Once healed, it may look fine, or it may need a minor touch up that usually requires just local anesthesia. All the best.

Eric Desman, MD · Answer

Continue to follow closely with your plastic surgeon. Sometimes the bad skin and fat needs to be cut away in order to allow for better healing. It is impossible to tell right now from the photo. You did the right thing by contacting your surgeon. These wounds can take 6 weeks to heal or even longer, but frequently the scar is remarkably good after a healing problem like this. If the scar is a problem 6 months after things heal in, you can consider a scar revision. Good luck.

I just had a tummy tuck 16 days ago and I'm experiencing wound dehiscence on my incision. What do I do? Will it affect my scar?

Answers (5)