Liposuction Port-Site Protection: Necessity or Needless Expense?

Abstract

Background: Liposuction is the most common cosmetic plastic surgery procedure in the United States, and lipo-aspiration for fat grafting is gaining in popularity. The results are effective, but complications include seroma, contour irregularities, skin necrosis, and even death. Scarring, dehiscence, and infection at the port site, although minor, are a common and less-discussed problem. To date, no study has examined the local complication profile of patients treated with and without port-site protection.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of silicone port protectors to decrease local complications after liposuction.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed on 60 consecutive patients treated for cosmetic liposuction or autologous fat transfer between August 2022 and March 2024. The first 30 patients underwent tumescent-based lipo-aspiration without port-site protectors and the following 30 with placement of a segment of suction tubing to protect the skin. Records were reviewed to determine patient demographics, amount of tumescent and aspirate, and complications at the port site.

Results: Sixty patients completed the study. There were no significant differences in patient demographics and surgical data between groups. Ten patients in the unprotected group and 2 in the protected group experienced port-site complications (33.3% vs 6.7%, P = .0093). Significantly more patients in the unprotected group experienced wound dehiscence (P = .0095), and there was a trend toward more patients requiring steroid injections and excisions and reclosures (P = .088 and .167, respectively).

Conclusions: In this cohort, patients treated with a port protection device suffered fewer local complications, requiring less wound management, steroid injections, and revisions.

Level of evidence 3 therapeutic: