Patients with complex abdominal wall defects usually have deformations of the abdomen, which may remain after the operation, and require the solution of a whole ramge of problems. Quite often, abdominal wall defects are combined with a variety of aesthetic deformities that are associated with abnormal postoperative scars, trophic ulcers, and fistulas. Though the restoration or improvement of abdominal wall functionality is the main goal of alloplasty for complex abdominal wall defects, the cosmetic aspects of the operation, sometimes far more important for patients, deserve special attention. The choice of optimal operative access largely depends on lateral surgery, but most surgeons do not pay special attention to it and mainly use framing incisions above the defect or protrusion. By this time, such values as the type, size of the incision, depth, and borders of flaps flaking are reported empirically and often lead to additional deformation of the operative area and the development of complications. Abdominoplasty is one of the most controversial operations in aesthetic and plastic surgery, where complications reach 27.5-30.8%. The concept of "abdominoplasty" provides techniques for the operational correction of abdominal wall deformities presented by excess skin and subcutaneous fat, pathological postoperative scars, as well as defects of the muscular aponeurotic layer in abdominal area. There are several abdominoplasty techniques. The purpose of this work is to determine the efficacy of the modified abdominoplasty in the surgical treatment of complex abdominal wall defects. Materials and methods. The study involved 360 patients with complex abdominal wall defects operated on at the surgical department of the Poltava Municipal Hospital №1 in for the last 10 years. Various deformities of the abdominal wall were detected in 289 patients (80,3%). Localization of the defects can be described as following: M – 306 (85%), L – 31 (8,6%), ML – 23 (6,4%). The size of the defects: W1 – 103 (28,6%), W2 – 188 (52,2%), W3 – 69 (19,2%). Additional diastase rectus muscles were detected in 179 patients (49,7%). The combined surgical diseases were found in 332 patients (92,2%); 18,1% of them were diagnosed to have intra-abdominal pathology. Results and discussion. The following types of dermatolipectomy were used: longitudinal - 77 cases (28,1%), by Babcock - 114 cases (41,6%), by Kelly - 6 cases (2,2%), by Fernandes - 63 cases (22,9%), modified Fernandez - 7 cases (2,5%), by Berson - 3 cases (1,1%), by Torek - 2 cases (0,8%), by Hrazer – 2 cases (0,8%). Simultaneous operations were performed on in 65 patients (18,1%). Types of alloplasty used: «onlay» - 3 cases (0,8%), «sublay» - 289 cases (80,3%), «sublay-inlay» - 38 cases (10,6%), «inlay» - 3 cases (0,8%), Ramirez – 4 cases (1,1%), intra-abdominal - 2 cases (0,6%), combine – 21 (5,8%). Conclusions. The term abdominoplasty has a broader definition than it was considered previously. Differentiated surgical tactics for patients with complex abdominal wall defects improves the abdominoplasty outcomes.
A new surgical treatment for abdominal wall defects
