AboutAlan M. Engler, MD, FACS Expertise Dr. Engler has answered over 2700 plastic surgery questions for Allexperts. His expertise is in cosmetic plastic surgery including breast surgery (breast enlargement with implants, breast reduction, breast lifts), liposuction, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks, facelifts etc.
Dr. Engler has been listed as one New York`s Top Doctors, and as "One of the World's Most Famous Aesthetic Surgeons" (Aesthetic Surgery, TASCHEN Books, Angelika Taschen, Editor). He is the author of 4 books, including "BodySculpture" (a best-selling plastic surgery book on breast surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks), "EyeScapes" (Plastic Surgery of the Eyelids), "Restylane," and "The Slim Book of Liposuction."
Dr. Engler has two US Patents for surgical instruments that he's designed, and has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Tyra Banks Show, The Ricki Lake Show (four times), and the Dr. Keith Ablow Show. Videos of his appearances are available on YouTube (SEARCH FOR "DR. ENGLER"). His website is www.bodysculpture.com.
Experience Dr. Alan Engler is a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York and the author of BodySculpture - Plastic Surgery of the Body for Men and Women (ISBN 0966382749) one of the top-selling plastic surgery books on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.
Education/Credentials Dr. Engler graduated from Yale University (undergraduate) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (medical school). He did his residency training in General Surgery and, after that, Plastic Surgery, at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Question Hello, In November 2006 I had a tummy tuck and everything went well and I healed according to schedule. I work out at least 5 times a week - weights and a bootcamp-cardio, corework & weights. Just last Friday I was sent to the ER by my doctor and they did a CT scan and found a fluid collection in my abdominal wall around my belly button. The doctor then stuck a needle in and removed approx 80 cc's of fluid from the pocket that was 1-1/2 - 2 cm beneath the surface. They diagnosed it as an Abdominal Seroma. Is this something that usually happens even this long after major surgery? Will it happen again? Can it be prevented? Isn't it a little late for a Seroma form from the tummy tuck or is this from something else? Can you help? Thank you so much, Kathy
Answer from Dr. Alan Engler
www.bodysculpture.com
Hi Kathy,
This is a little unusual in terms of the timing of its appearance; ie,
2 1/2 years after a tummy tuck. Late complications, including hematomas and seromas, have been reported with breast implants and the capsules that form around them, but I have not heard of that with a tummy tuck.
So I wonder if it was there all along, starting much smaller and then increasing in size, and has just started to become symptomatic? Another possibility is if you had some stress or strain, or trauma to the region, and the shearing forces caused the fluid.
The fluid should be tested for any abnormal cells, of course (I suspect it was) and you should continue to undergo a full assessment to make sure nothing else is going on. You may never know exactly why it happened, so the main thing is to treat it appropriately now (ie, the drainage you had) and follow up, perhaps with a repeat CT in a few weeks (or an ultrasound, which may be an easier way to follow the fluid collection). If it recurs, it should be drained again; if this process repeats itself, you might have to consider having some of the scar tissue removed (that scar tissue is referred to as a pseudobursa).
