ReviewAesthetic plastic surgery2023
Global Prevalence and Preferences of Progressive Tension Suture Usage in Abdominoplasties.
Review in Aesthetic plastic surgery, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Aesthetic abdominal contouring enhancement with combined abdominoplasty and circumferential liposuction in normal-BMI postpartum Asian women.Frontiers in surgery · 2026Article
- Expanding the Role of Cell Salvage: Implications for High-Volume Liposuction and Lipedema Surgery.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2026Article
- Abdominoplasty With Progressive Tension Sutures Versus Conventional Abdominoplasty: A Comparative Study at a Third-level Institution.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2025Article
- Analysis of factors affecting the postoperative drainage in patients with abdominoplasty with circumferential liposuction.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Article
- The Safety of Abdominal Contouring in the Presence of a Gastric Band.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2023Article
- Clinical Evaluation of 310 Abdominoplasties and Measurement of Scar Level.Annals of plastic surgery · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAbdominoplasty is one of the most popular esthetic procedures. Seroma is the most frequent postoperative complication. Two decades of literature have described benefits of quilting sutures/progressive tension sutures (PTS) in reducing seroma rates and other complications in abdominoplasties. Despite this, PTS have not been universally adopted by plastic surgeons (ISAPS international survey on aesthetic/cosmetic procedures performed in 2020, 2021) Furthermore, PTS techniques and preferences vary widely.
objectiveThe aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of PTS use, reasons for reluctance to utilize them, and variety of techniques utilized by plastic surgeons performing abdominoplasties internationally.
methodsA 13-question survey was emailed via ISAPS to 3842 plastic surgeons internationally. Responses were collected and analyzed.
resultsOf the 272 respondents, the majority, 58%, currently use PTS. 46% were introduced to PTS during training. Only PTS training exposure was found to significantly correlate with current usage. Only 22% of North American trainees were exposed to PTS compared to 40-62% of trainees from other geographies. Of respondents who utilize PTS, most, 74%, combine them with drains. The majority use interrupted sutures, 65%, while 19% utilize a running suture, and the remaining 16% combine interrupted and running sutures. Of respondents who do not currently utilize PTS, the most common reason stated is that the surgeon's technique works well without them, 73%, which was significantly correlated with years in practice.
conclusionGlobally, most plastic surgeons currently utilize PTS (typically with drains) with training exposure being a significant predictor. There are still areas to address reluctance to implement them and use them without drains. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.