Abdominoplasty continues to be a secure and efficient process, with extra circumstances carried out on an outpatient foundation and elevated use of concomitant liposuction, in accordance with a brand new 16-year evaluation within the January difficulty of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgical procedure^®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The journal is printed within the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Profiting from quality-improvement information submitted by US Board-certified plastic surgeons, our examine supplies new perception on the evolution of the abdominoplasty method.”

Michael J. Stein, MD, MAS, FRCSC, FACS, lead creator of Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, N.Y.

Shifts in ‘tummy tuck’ methods and outcomes from 2005 to 2021

Abdominoplasty – typically known as “tummy tuck” – is a beauty surgical process to enhance the looks of the stomach. In 2022, ASPS Member Surgeons carried out almost 162,000 abdominoplasty procedures, in accordance with ASPS statistics.

To evaluate the evolution of observe patterns and surgical methods, Dr. Stein and colleagues analyzed information from the Steady Certification means of the American Board of Plastic Surgical procedure (ABPS). In that course of, plastic surgeons submit info on particular “tracer procedures” as proof of ongoing enchancment in medical observe.

The researchers analyzed information on 8,990 abdominoplasty circumstances submitted by 390 ABPS-certified plastic surgeons between 2005 and 2021. To evaluate tendencies over time, circumstances have been divided into early (2005-14) and up to date (2015-21) cohorts.

The examine interval noticed an elevated price of outpatient abdominoplasty, with out an in a single day hospital keep, from 77% to 81%; and elevated use of heparin to forestall blood clot-related problems. Sufferers handled in more moderen years have been extra more likely to bear a number of surgical procedures, significantly liposuction to scale back fats within the belly tissue flap.

‘Abdominoplasty stays a secure and dependable process’

Different technical modifications included decreased use of broad tissue undermining, vertical plication of the stomach, and postoperative of surgical drains – though all these methods continued for use in most abdominoplasty circumstances. The researchers word that whereas the noticed modifications are statistically vital, they’re “finest appreciated as constructive or adverse observe tendencies between cohorts, reasonably than clinically vital modifications in observe.”

“Abdominoplasty stays a secure and dependable process over the examine interval, with a slight however statistically vital lower in adversarial occasions within the latest cohort,” Dr. Stein and coauthors conclude. “Cautious pre-operative analysis of sufferers ought to determine danger components that improve the danger of problems.”

Senior creator and previous ASPS President Dr. Alan Matarasso of Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital has contributed to related evaluations utilizing ABPS Steady Certification information for different “tracer” procedures – most just lately together with a report on tendencies in beauty breast augmentation. Fellow authors embody Drs. Arun Gosain and Peter Rubin.

Dr. Matarasso feedback: “Whereas not with out potential sources of bias, using ABPS Steady Certification information – with obligatory reporting of huge numbers of frequent procedures by Board-certified plastic surgeons – supplies distinctive insights into tendencies in surgical observe and benchmarks to tell additional security and high quality enchancment efforts.”