title: Prevention and management of complications in body contouring surgery.
abstract: This patient safety article discusses strategies to prevent, diagnose, and manage complications from body contouring surgery. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative approaches to avoiding, identifying, and treating complications are addressed. Individual complications, such as hematoma, seroma, infection, dehiscence, suture extrusion, deep venous thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism are discussed and a review of complication rates in the body contouring literature is provided. The article addresses procedure-specific complications and pearls to avoiding complications in these cases. Difficult problems such as skin relaxation and management of the disappointed patient are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Life After Weight Loss Program, Department of Plastic Surgery, UPMC Plastic Surgery Center, University of Pittsburgh, 3380 Boulevard of the Allies, Suite 180, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. Electronic address: gusenoffja@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gusenoff
mesh_terms: D003357:Cosmetic Techniques; D062109:Dermatologic Surgical Procedures; D006801:Humans; D018579:Patient Selection; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures
keywords: Body contour; Complications; Dehiscence; Delayed wound healing; Hematoma; Infection; Plastic surgery; Seroma