TissuGlu Morristown New Jersey
The standard of care in abdominoplasty is to insert drains and keep them in place for about 5 days to a week after surgery. There is a new product called TissuGlu which is intended for tummy tucks ( abdominoplasty ) . This Lysine based urethane product is reported to be a synthetic bio-compatible glue that is approved by FDA for use in tummy tuck procedures. The advantage of this product is that one can avoid inserting a drain. Many patients would desire to not have a drain to deal with in the post operative period and this would be an advantage for them. There are a few things that patients would have to be made aware of.
- Twenty one percent of the patients developed a seroma which is fluid collection. If a seroma develops, it has to be aspirated in the office. This is an inconvenience for the patient an the surgeon.
- Six percent of patients ultimately required a drain to be inserted. This is often done in the office.
- My incidence of seroma formation is less than 5 percent with the drains in my practice.