The Effect of Combining Progressive Tension Sutures with Autologous Platelet Gel Sealant Effect on Reducing Seroma Incidence after Lipoabdominoplasty

Background: Seroma is frequently a self-limiting condition;it might have negative consequences such as infection,flap necrosis, wound dehiscence, and spontaneous drainagethrough the surgical site. Seroma treatment is time-consumingas it may necessitate several sessions of aspirations, probabledrain insertion, and revision procedures.Objective: This study aimed to verify whether combiningprogressive tension sutures with autologous platelet gel sealantdecreased the incidence of seroma formation after lipoabdominoplasty.Methods: This was a prospective, case-controlled, andrandomized clinical study of forty female patients, aged 25-55 years, that was carried out from January 2023 to October2023. All patients were seen at the plastic surgery outpatientclinic at Suez Canal University Hospital. Patients were allocatedrandomly into two equal groups: the study group [A]had lipoabdominoplasty combined with progressive tensionsutures and autologous platelet gel, while the control group < br />[B] had lipoabdominoplasty alone. A closed suction drain wasused in both groups, and total drain output was measured every24 hours after surgery until the drains were removed. Clinicalexaminations were used as a subjective assessment at 2, 4, 6,and 8 weeks after surgery, while the incidence of wound disruptionor skin sloughing was used as an objective assessmentof seroma. The results of the two groups were documented andstatistically analysed.Results: Regarding both subjective and objective assessmentsof seroma formation, there were statistically significantdifferences between the two groups. The amount of drain outputin lipoabdominoplasty with combined PTS and sealantplatelet gel (group A) was considerably lower than the controlgroup (p-value <0.00001). The drain removal time (days) wasmuch longer in group B (the control group), with a statisticallysignificant difference between both groups (p-value <0.00001).The incidence of wound dehiscence and flap necrosis was recordedonly in the control group (B).Conclusion: Combining progressive tension sutures withautologous platelet gel sealant as an adjuvant in lipoabdominoplastyreduced the incidence of seroma formation after thisprocedure.