Thank you for your question. Tummy tuck, overall, is a very safe operation. Not to be taken lightly, however, is the fact that it is just that - a surgical operation, and not a minor one. In most cases, it involves somewhere in the range of 2 hours of general anesthesia, with its associated (very controlled, in the present day) risks. As with any surgical procedure, there are the standard risks of infection, bleeding, and injury to surrounding structures. We, as surgeons, take this into account and do everything in our power to counteract them. We employ meticulous sterile technique to prevent infection, and give antibiotics on the operating table and often for several days after surgery. While no major blood vessels are encountered during a tummy tuck, we are fastidious about controlling any bleeding from the small vessels that we do come across - blood loss is often less than the volume of a shot glass. And while no major organs are encountered, proper surgical technique ensures avoidance of injury to abdominal skin, musculature, and other tissues.Following surgery, the most common adverse events are minor: wound healing issues, managed with proper wound care, and minor revision if necessary; seroma (sterile fluid collection under the flap of abdominal skin and fat that was created), prevented with drains, but sometimes inevitable - and managed with simple, albeit occasionally tedious, drainage in the office, under local anesthetic; contour irregularities from liposuction; and formation of an unfavorable scar. By definition, tummy tuck produces a fairly long, curved scar across the lower abdomen, as well as a circumferential one around the belly button. Proper surgical planning involves placing the incision low enough that the scar is covered by nearly any bikini bottom and most underwear; skillful technique ensures creation of an aesthetically pleasing belly button, with an inconspicuous scar.The most common serious complication that is possible with tummy tuck is thromboembolic disease, the formation of a blood clot in the leg (deep venous thrombosis), that can then travel to the lungs (pulmonary embolism). Thankfully, this is a highly uncommon event (less than 1%), that we take the highest level of precaution against. Risk factors include smoking, hormonal birth control or hormone replacement therapy, and history of cancer or blood clotting disorder. The greatest single precaution taken against thromboembolic disease is walking in the days following surgery, rather than lying in bed. Those who are calculated to have a higher than average risk are given a dose of a blood thinner immediately before surgery, and in extreme cases, for a few days afterward.Again, in the hands of a qualified and board-certified plastic surgeon, tummy tuck is overall very safe. Risks are well-defined, and meticulous precautions are taken to manage those risks - and in the proper hands, dramatic, beautiful results are not only possible, but the expected outcome.
