The risks of tummy tuck are pretty much the same as any operation; so there are the anaesthetic risks, which are relatively minor. Specific to the surgery you can get bleeding under the skin following surgery and that can occasionally require a trip back to theatre to undo the sutures, stop the bleeding and re-suture the patient. That’s pretty unusual, 2 to 3 percent at the most, that that would happen. Patients always usually have a drain in, the drain is there, I use two drains actually, and the drains are designed to drain off any fluid that builds up after surgery. They come out the next day before the patient goes home, but some patients will still build up a bit of fluid in the abdomen. It’s called a seroma. It means they feel some swelling, sort of 2 to 3 weeks post surgery, and we occasionally have to put a needle in and just drain that fluid off to let it settle down. Sometimes that needs to be done two to three times. Those are the main issues with surgery. I’ve mentioned the numbness earlier on, some patients get numbness in the skin. Some of that can be permanent that they dislike, some patients get adverse scaring which can look quite unsightly, but we have strategies for dealing with that. We guide patients through the recovery period to get the best possible scaring anyways so we’re aiming for a good outcome.
