I had a tummy tuck two months ago. Now I have a little water-filled “pouchie” above my couchie where the water waves move when I poke it. My surgeon says it is not a problem and will go away. Should I be worried?

A seroma is a lymph filled pocket in your soft tissues. We are most aware of them when they are just under the skin as they can demonstrate a “fluid wave” phenomenon when they are tapped. Larger scale surgery is more of a risk toward the formation of a seroma and tummy tuck surgery is included.

On the positive side, these things tend to resolve when small and wounds are newer. The longer they manage to persist, the greater the chance that they will not go away, but rather form a scarred in cavity that will tend to stay. In a worst case scenario they can require surgery to fix. Alternate treatments include draining them intermittently with a needle or with a drainage tube or injecting them with a chemical to encourage them to shrink or go away. Opinions as to how often or urgent treatment of a seroma is vary substantially. Left alone they can mar good tummy tuck results, so I like to deal with them quickly. My tummy tuck results have benefited by this policy by my way of thinking. I haven’t needed to re-operate to repair one in over ten years.

Seromas are best avoided. The best ways to do this involve the proper use of drains and compression garments after a large scale operation as well as tailoring that operation to be less risky.

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD

Originally posted 2011-06-09 07:30:09.