Stigmata of Stigmata of Abdominoplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abdominoplasty aims to remove excess skin and adipose tissue from the abdomen while tightening the abdominal musculature. A flat appearance can be achieved with traditional abdominoplasty techniques. The objective of the research was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the stigma associated with abdominoplasty and strategies for its prevention and management.

We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to search the databases of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for eligible articles addressing our aim. We included all studies that mentioned different abdominoplasty techniques and their effects on complications, aesthetic outcomes, or patient satisfaction with the procedures.

The percentage of patients pleased with abdominoplasty was 98.2% according to a pooled analysis of 0.982 (95% CI 0.971-0.992). The incidence of umbilical problems among the study's patients was 1.58% with a pooled analysis of 0.01 (95%CI -0.001-0.021). The occurrence of hypertrophic scars was documented in 10 studies involving 1533 patients. The proportion of hypertrophic scars was reported to be 2.4% in a pooled analysis, with a pooled estimate of 0.024 (95% CI: 0.011-0.037).

Certain surgical approaches, such as ruler-guided incision marking and high-definition techniques, may reduce scar asymmetry and improve aesthetic satisfaction; however, these observations are based on low-level evidence and should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating.

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