[Abdominoplasties: Do we still need to drain in 2021?]

The purpose of this study was to consider the use of drainage when performing an abdominoplasty with regards to postoperative complications for two groups of patients.

From January 1st 2017 to December 31th 2019, 215 patients underwent an abdominoplasty in our institution. In this retrospective, comparative, single institution study, patients were divided into two groups: "drainage" D (n=162) when suction completed abdominoplasty, "no drainage" ND (n=53) when suction didn't completed abdominoplasty. Early and distant complications were retrieved for each group and compared.

There was no significant difference between the two groups concerning the occurrence of seroma postoperatively (8% of patients in group D and 11.3% of patients in group AD). The drainage group D experienced more seroma's punctures (2,3± 1,0) and the mean of punctured fluid was higher (386,5ml±350,4ml) compared to the no drainage group ND (1,3+- 0,5 number of punctures with a mean punctured fluid of 165,8mL± 224,2mL). The mean hospital stay was shorter for group ND (2,9± 1,8 days) than for group D (4,4+- 1,7 days), P<0,0001.

Performing an abdominoplasty with quilting suture but drainless doesn't seem to increase postoperative complications statistically. The authors recommend, under the guise of a quilting suture, not to systematically drain the abdominoplasties and to reserve this technique for patients at risk of complications (high BMI, significant weight loss and co-morbidities).