Abdominoplasty with celiotomy: evaluation and technique

Abdominoplasty is simple, safe and easy. It can be performed in association with the usual intra-abdominal gynecologic surgery. The additional operative time is 30 to 90 minutes and the hospital stay is not extended. In selected cases, it can even be done on an out-patient basis. Results are uniformly good and in some cases even out standing, with patient's gratitude commonplace. An analysis of 129 patients with 139 abdominoplasties is presented. For the best esthetic results, the umbilicus must be relocated and a low, transverse incisional line must be used. We attribute our uniformly good results, lack of complications, and decrease of morbidity (3%) to employing incisions along the "Langers" line of skin cleavages, closing the skin without tension, applying subcuticular sutures, securing meticulous hemostasis, ensuring adequate drainage and deploying antibiotics liberally.