Scarpa Fascia Preservation to Reduce Seroma Rate on Massive Weight Loss Patients Undergoing Abdominoplasty: A Comparative Study

(1) Background: An increasing number of patients undergo bariatric surgery and seek body contouring surgery after massive weight loss (MWL). Abdominoplasty itself is associated with a high complication rate in these patients, particularly due to seroma formation. Scarpa fascia preservation (SFP) has been proven to be an efficient method of reducing seroma rates. We aimed to evaluate the possible benefits of SFP on massive weight loss patients comparatively. (2) Methods: This is a single-center retrospective comparative study encompassing 202 MWL patients operated between 2009 and 2019 at Turku University Hospital. Patients included in the study had a preoperative weight loss greater than 30 kg. Of them, 149 went through traditional abdominoplasty and 53 abdominoplasties with SFP. The primary outcome measure was seroma occurrence, while secondary outcomes included drainage amount, hospital stay, surgical site occurrence, and need for blood transfusion. (3) Results: The only statistically significant difference between groups on patients' demographics was the sex ratio, favoring females in the control group (43:10, 81% vs. 130:19, 87%, p = 0.018). SFP significantly reduced seroma occurrence (9.4% vs. 26.2%, p = 0.011) and decreased mean drainage duration (3.7 +/- 2.4 vs. 5.3 +/- 3.2 days, p = 0.025). There was a trend towards lower drainage output (214.1 +/- 162.2 mL vs. 341.9 +/- 480.5 mL, p = 0.060) and fewer postoperative days on ward in the SFP group. Other complication incidences did not differ between the groups. The multivariable analysis did not show any significant factor for seroma formation or surgical site occurrence. (4) Conclusions: Preserving Scarpa fascia on MWL patients may result in decreased seroma occurrence and a shorter time to drain removal.

Automated summary

Preserving Scarpa fascia can reduce the occurrence of seroma and shorten the duration of drainage in MWL patients.