Abdominoplasty With Or Without Liposuction: A National Comparison Of Postoperative Complication Risks
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: PURPOSE: Abdominoplasty and suction-assisted lipectomy (liposuction) are elective cosmetic procedures that may be performed on their own or together within a single surgical encounter. There is disagreement in the field over whether combining them into a single surgery increases the risk of surgical complications. Prior preliminary studies have suggested that combined abdominoplasty and liposuction surgeries were associated with fewer complications than abdominoplasty without liposuction. Here, we offer a more detailed comparison of the risk profiles associated with these two surgical options. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX Research Networka global federated database of de-identified electronic health records. Adult patients (≥18 years) who underwent abdominoplasty between 2005 and 2025 were identified. These patients were stratified into two cohortsthose who underwent liposuction at the time of their abdominoplasty, and those who underwent abdominoplasty without liposuction. These two cohorts underwent 1:1 propensity score matching for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Our primary outcomes of interest included postprocedural hemorrhage/hematoma, postoperative seroma, deep venous thrombosis (DVT)/pulmonary embolism (PE), wound disruption/dehiscence, postoperative infection, and overall postoperative complication risk within 30 days of the procedure. RESULTS: A total of 17,961 patients who underwent abdominoplasty were identified4,781 who underwent abdominoplasty with liposuction, and 13,180 who underwent abdominoplasty without liposuction. Propensity score matching yielded 4,781 matched pairs that were used for subsequent analyses. The overall postoperative complication risk was significantly lower in the combined abdominoplasty and liposuction cohort (5.10% vs. 7.91%; risk ratio [RR] 0.65; p<0.0001). In particular, the risk of postprocedural hemorrhage/hematoma formation was significantly lower in the combined surgery cohort (0.75% vs. 1.40%; RR 0.47; p=0.002), as was the risk of postoperative seroma formation (0.38% vs. 1.13%; RR 0.33; p<0.0001) and surgical wound disruption/dehiscence (1.13% vs. 2.38%; RR 0.47; p<0.0001). The risk of postoperative infection was also significantly lower in the combined surgery cohort (1.84% vs. 2.57%; RR 0.72; p=0.015). There was no significant difference in the risk of DVT/PE between the two cohorts. CONCLUSION: Combined abdominoplasty with liposuction was not associated with increased risk of postoperative complications compared to abdominoplasty without liposuction. Interestingly, the combined surgery was associated with significantly lower risk of postoperative complicationsincluding hematoma/seroma formation, hemorrhage of skin/subcutaneous tissue, wound disruption/dehiscence, and infection. These conclusions have important implications in the realm of cosmetic surgery and could play an important role in the preoperative shared decision-making process.© 2026. Plastic Surgery Research Council | All rights reserved |*Source: https://ps-rc.org/meeting/Program/2026/99.cgi*
Institution: University of Utah
Language: English
Topic: Body Contouring and Surgery
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7160624371