Abdominoplasties: Do we still need to drain in 2021?

Objective. - The purpose of this study was to consider the use of drainage when performing an abdominoplasty with regards to postoperative complications for two groups of patients. Patients and method. - From January 1st 2017 to December 31th 2019, 215 patients underwent an abdominoplasty in our institution. In this retrospective, comparative, single institution study, patients were divided into two groups: ``drainage'' D (n = 162) when suction completed abdominoplasty, ``no drainage'' ND (n = 53) when suction didn't completed abdominoplasty. Early and distant complications were retrieved for each group and compared. Results. - There was no significant difference between the two groups concerning the occurrence of seroma postoperatively (8% of patients in group D and 11.3% of patients in group AD). The drainage group D experienced more seroma's punctures (2,3 +/- 1,0) and the mean of punctured fluid was higher (386,5 ml +/- 350,4 ml) compared to the no drainage group ND (1,3 + - 0,5 number of punctures with a mean punctured fluid of 165,8 mL +/- 224,2 mL). The mean hospital stay was shorter for group ND (2,9 +/- 1,8 days) than for group D (4,4 + - 1,7 days), P < 0,0001. Conclusion. - Performing an abdominoplasty with quilting suture but drainless doesn't seem to increase postoperative complications statistically. The authors recommend, under the guise of a quilting suture, not to systematically drain the abdominoplasties and to reserve this technique for patients at risk of complications (high BMI, significant weight loss and co-morbidities). (C) 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.