title: Evaluation of abdominal cutaneous sensibility following abdominoplasty.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cutaneous hypesthesia is an undesirable postoperative outcome following abdominoplasty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate postabdominoplasty cutaneous sensibility using clinical, quantitative, and reproducible methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients who underwent abdominoplasty were divided into three groups: 0 to 12 months (short-term follow-up), 12 to 24 months (intermediate-term follow-up), and greater than 24 months (long-term follow-up) following abdominoplasty. Abdominal skin was divided into 12 areas, and superficial tactile sensibility was assessed subjectively using a patient questionnaire and objectively using Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments. Statistical analysis was performed using the t test, with significance defined as p ≤ 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen patients (56.7 percent) subjectively reported the presence of any abdominal cutaneous sensibility change postoperatively. Of those, 82.4 percent reported indifference toward this outcome. The greatest degree of objective sensibility loss was noted in area 8 (infraumbilical), followed by areas 5 (supraumbilical) and 11 (midline infraincisional). In these areas, there were statistically significant decreases in the average cutaneous pressure thresholds between the short-term and intermediate-term follow-up groups, the intermediate-term and long-term follow-up groups, and the short-term and long-term follow-up groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Postabdominoplasty cutaneous sensibility losses improve over time. These findings may enable plastic surgeons to better inform their patients regarding the risk of sensibility loss and the longitudinal outcome of such changes postoperatively.
  
  
  METHODS
  Therapeutic, IV.
authors.affiliation: Burlington, Mass. From the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center.
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Aherrera
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Pincus
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Vernadakis
authors.forename: Sonal N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Pandya
mesh_terms: D034861:Abdominal Wall / Q000294:innervation* / Q000601:surgery; D061645:Abdominoplasty / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006987:Hypesthesia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011312:Pressure; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation*; D013997:Time Factors; D014110:Touch