title: Effects of aesthetic abdominoplasty on abdominal wall perfusion: a quantitative evaluation.
abstract: Abdominoplasty procedures involve a high risk of early complications, including hematomas, seromas, necrosis, and wound-healing problems. Their rationale is evident from the vascular anatomy of the abdominal wall, as traditional abdominoplasty includes a division of the main perforating vessels. No studies exist to quantitatively assess the consequences of abdominoplasty on the perfusion of the random pattern abdominal flap. To address this issue and quantify the influence of classic abdominoplasty on the perfusion of the abdominal skin, the authors performed a prospective clinical trial including 15 low-risk patients undergoing abdominoplasty for aesthetic purposes. Perfusion of the abdominal flap was measured intraoperatively using the technique of dynamic laser-fluorescence-videoangiography. In the region between the umbilicus and the transverse scar (zone 1), the increment of fluorescence (the slope of the intensity curve during inflow of the indocyanine green) was recorded and compared with the intensity curve of normal tissue that was not involved in surgery (thoracic wall). The results of the intraoperative indocyanine green perfusography showed a significant impairment of the vascular supply of zone 1 in all patients. The mean perfusion index in this region was 17.2 percent (range, 5 to 32 percent) of the perfusion of the surrounding skin that was not involved in surgery. The complication rate was 33 percent (five patients) and included two cases of hematoma and three cases of scar dehiscence with skin and/or fat necrosis. These data indicate that conventional abdominoplasty including extended undermining and division of the superficial and the deep arterial systems causes profound devascularization of the abdominal flap. This might explain the high incidence of complications following this procedure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Burn Center, Klinikum Bogenhausen, Technical University Munich, and Pulsion Medical Systems AG, Munich, Germany. mayr.martina@t-online.de
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mayr
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Holm
authors.forename: Eugen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Höfter
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mühlbauer
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D034861:Abdominal Wall / Q000098:blood supply*; D000328:Adult; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000601:surgery; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005218:Fat Necrosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006406:Hematoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007208:Indocyanine Green / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D007511:Ischemia / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D012306:Risk; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D007208:Indocyanine Green