Thinking of getting a tummy tuck in the new year? The procedure has remained very safe, a new 16-year analysis shows, with many patients opting for a little liposuction at the same time.

“Abdominoplasty [tummy tuck] remains a safe and reliable procedure over the study period,” concluded a team led by Dr. Michael Stein, a plastic surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

In fact, his team noted “a slight but statistically significant decrease in adverse events” tied to the surgeries over recent years.

They published their findings in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Abdominoplasties remain a hugely popular plastic surgery for Americans. Nearly 162,000 tummy tucks were performed in the United States in 2022, according to background information from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Has the safety of abdominoplasties changed over time?

To find out, Stein’s group looked at data on almost 9,000 tummy tuck procedures conducted between 2005 and 2021. They divided these surgeries into “early” (2005-2014) and “recent” (2015-2021) cases.

They found no change in safety, and even a slight reduction in complications in recent years.

Tummy tucks conducted on an outpatient basis (no overnight stay) rose in frequency over the study period, from 77% of cases in 2005 to 81% in 2021, the researchers reported.

Doctors also became more likely to prescribe patients the blood thinner heparin, to help prevent blood clots related to the surgery.

Another big trend: More patients also got liposuction on top of their tummy tuck, to help reduce abdominal fat.

Despite these changes and advances, “careful preoperative evaluation of patients” should still be used to “identify risk factors that increase the risk of complications,” Stein and his team stressed in a journal news release.

More information

Find out more about what’s involved in abdominoplasty at the Mayo Clinic.

SOURCE: Wolters Kluwer Health, news release, Dec. 22, 2023

Source: HealthDay