Delayed Complications in Abdominoplasty: A Case of a Ten-Year-Old Abdominoplasty Abscess

Abstract

Late abdominoplasty complications are not well-known, and some rare cases of patients having complications many years after may exist. In this chapter we expose a rather uncommon clinical expression of an insidious subcutaneous abscess 10 years after abdominoplasty. The tummy tuck was complicated by a postoperatory Staphylococcus aureus surgical site infection. After an adequate treatment, she was always almost asymptomatic with periods of itching and local soreness. After 10 years she had a blunt force trauma and an abscess erupted. What is intriguing in this case report is that the symptoms, patient history, and even the bacteriological results imply that the abscess is related to the initial abdominoplasty. Even if it is extremely rare, we suspect that quiescence in subcutaneous infections may exist especially after skin flap elevation.