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Permanent and Visible Sutures for Tummy Tuck: Normal?
An abdominoplasty has three parts: Tightening the muscle, removing the skin and fat, and contouring the skin envelope by the closure. In my practice (as is typical for most board-certified plastic surgery practices), permanent suture is used to tighten the muscle (the rectus plication). These sutures are typically covered by the tissue overlaying the muscle. A surgeon may also use permanent sutures that are remove to secure the drains - obviously, when the drains come out so should the suture. For the skin closure, my practice always uses absorbable suture. We've had excellent results with this. There may be some practices that use a permanent suture, but that should be removed when the incision has sufficiently healed (typically 5-7 days).
Clinical Context
Patients sometimes feel a firm, thread-like band under the skin near the belly button weeks after surgery - this is usually the permanent muscle-tightening suture, buried under healed tissue, and is not a concern. A different situation is a suture that visibly breaks through the skin surface (sometimes called spitting), which looks red or irritated and may drain fluid. This is not the same as feeling a deep muscle suture and should be evaluated by your surgeon if it occurs.
