39 year old woman 3 months after Drainless Tummy Tuck and Umbilical Hernia Repair
The patient is 5’4”, 155 lbs., 2 children. The patient had a drainless tummy tuck which allowed her to have immediate mobility after surgery. She had Exparel injected under the abdominal fascia during surgery, so was without discomfort in the recovery room. Using Exparel, and not using drains allows the patient to have more mobility in the post-operative period and less need overall for narcotic pain medication. The drainless technique involves re-attaching the abdominal flap to the abdominal wall with progressive tension sutures and quilting sutures. In addition to removing the risk of seroma or fluid collections, distributing tension-relieving sutures throughout the underside of the flap removes tension on the closure itself. This helps prevent vascular compromise and the risk of healing problems, as well as helping get a finer scar for the incision itself.