Abdominoplasty and Abdominal Contour Surgery: A National Plastic Surgery Survey

Abstract

The authors report the largest series of local and systemic complication rates and compare them with those of previously published abdominoplasty surveys. With respect to full abdominoplasty, lower complication rates for deep vein thrombosis (0.04 percent) and pulmonary embolus (0.02 percent) were seen. No deaths were reported. There was no correlation between a surgeon's years in practice and complication rates, in concordance with the earlier study by Grazer and Goldwyn. Despite more extensive abdominal contouring techniques and the addition of liposuction to abdominal contouring, the local and systemic complication rates coincided with previous complication rates, as outlined in other studies.