Closing the abdomen after a TT or LBL?

I had my second plastics consult today and the surgeon talked about quilt stitching the abdominal skin back in place after tightening the muscles. He explained that it helps to reduce the fluid build up so there is little need for drains. I saw another PS is testing an adhesive that reattachs the skin to the muscle. Is this a common practice for abdominoplasties or lower body work? Should I expect it or is it unusual?

Just wondering.

I follow #tummytuck on Instagram and there are is a myriad of different techniques that are used as far as stitching goes. Some of them look pretty horrendous at first, but the follow up pictures are still impressive. One of the things I liked about Dr. M was that his stitching was pretty from day 1 and therefore didn't cause any trepidation about what it would heal out to.

I have no idea on the glue, but I do know that 'swell hell' is a real thing and it's a little scary to think of no drains! There are also surgeons who don't use compression - that's also terrifying.

Thanks Erin. I made a call back to the first surgeon that I consulted with to ask about his closing procedure. He also does "quilting" of the skin to the muscle but also puts in drains. He says that the drains usually don't have to stay in as long though with the extra stitching. I also talked to him about whether a combo of BL & TT would be outpatient or inpatient. He would prefer to have me stay over at Sibley for one night to be sure that I am able to be mobile after the muscle tightening. I would love to go home after surgery but getting help with getting in and out of bed at first would probably be helpful.

I stayed one night at Sibley after my lower body lift/breast lift combo procedure. I mean, after being under anesthesia for like 11 hours and then being on pain meds, you won't want to go home, you will just lay there in a haze :) When I had my arm lift, I went home the same day.

Good luck choosing the best doctor for you! As you know, I have nothing but love for Dr. M :) My scars are incredible thanks to his OCD stitching techniques :)

My only hesitation in staying in the hospital is that I know I don't get any sleep there with the regular checks and other noise. But I am also worried about being mobile post-op, post-anesthesia and having staff to help me at first will be just fine.

BTW did you have a power-assist recliner when you got home? I am thinking of renting one for the first week or so to help getting up and down.

Yeah, after my RNY (when I was lucid) I got zero sleep...after my LBL and BL, I can't even remember so I assume I was doped up and sleeping!

I didn't need a recliner - I had a large wedge foam pillow that I got on Amazon and my mom (who was staying with me for 5 days after) would circle her arms around me to lift me up if I needed to get out of bed, or help me lay down. The only pain was that darn abdominal muscle tightening!

I have a wedge that I got when I had my RNY but I'm going to price a recliner to be sure. My wife who would be there at least some of the time (nights particularly) has fibro and back problems so I don't want to be totally dependent on her doing too much lifting.

i rented a recliner and would do it again. gives you independence. I slept in the living room and my mom took the couch...but after the first two days she moved to the spare bedroom because with the lift chair i could get up by myself and didn't need to wake her every 4 hours throughout the night for help, going to the bathroom or a lap around the house. I needed to move frequently because I had the lbl and auto augment on the butt, didn't want to be sitting or lying on it for too long.

I am certainly leaning that way too. If we strain my wife's back trying to get me out of bed or a chair, then we certainly will be in deep doo-doo!

I stayed overnight for my TT and was glad I did. Mobility was not too good for that first day.