Hi everyone - I'm sorry if this isn't the correct forum for this new article, but I'm not sure where else to post the information.
As many of you know, I've had some difficulties following my unilateral Diep surgery back on March 3rd - lately it's been an abdominal bulge. A Cat scan last week shows I don't have a hernia - but there is a defect in the abdominal wall and some weakness.
The abstract below shows that for women like me, with prior abdominal surgeries, the risk for abdominal complications after Diep surgery is 24%! This is HUGE in my mind - if I had known this (and if my PS knew this back in March) I doubt I would have gone ahead with the surgery.
Here's the link and the main part of the abstract (note that I experienced all THREE of the complications in my abdomen, which will hopefully be totally repaired next year when I go for Stage 2 surgery):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18453974
-----------------------------------------------------------
There were no significant differences between the control and scar groups in DIEP flap loss (1.8 percent versus 2.9 percent), partial flap loss (1.8 percent versus 1.0 percent), or fat necrosis (15 percent versus 14 percent, respectively). However, the scar group had a significantly higher rate of abdominal donor-site complications (24 percent) compared with the control group (6.7 percent; p = 0.003).
The most common complications were abdominal wound breakdown (12 percent), seroma requiring operative drainage (6.4 percent), and abdominal laxity or bulge (5.1 percent). CONCLUSIONS: With minor technical modifications, DIEP flaps can be performed successfully without increased flap complications in patients with preexisting abdominal incisions. Despite these design modifications, patients should be informed of an increased risk for donor-site complications
Linear Mode
