Following on from winning the Hackett Memorial Prize awarded by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), the paper written by Mr Alex Karidis and his trainee surgeon Log Murugesan has now been published in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. This is the official publication of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and it is dedicated to advancing the art of aesthetic plastic surgery.
Entitled ‘External Quilting: New Technique to Avoid Haematoma in Gynaecomastia Surgery’, the paper details the innovative stitching technique developed by Mr Karidis to reduce the risk of a haematoma developing after male breast reduction. This is a relatively common complication and, in some cases, might result in delayed healing and even may require a return to the operating theatre.
Operating on 149 gynaecomastia patients between 2018 and 2019, Alex used external quilting structures to obliterate any of the space that is left when fat and glandular tissue is removed from the chest wall.
Innovative gynaecomastia stitching technique
In a recent interview, Mr Karidis explained what makes his male breast reduction stitching technique stand out from the competition: “My quilting technique for male breast reduction was extrapolated from a facelift technique. The idea was to quilt the skin down. When you’re removing tissue from underneath the skin, you’re effectively leaving an empty space between the skin and muscle and, immediately after surgery, you can be left with broken blood vessels that leak into the empty space, filling and causing a haematoma.
“In the male breast reduction, this isn’t desirable as you want a flat chest obviously so with the quilting technique, I’m stitching the skin to the muscle to close off that empty space. It also helps guide the skin where you want it to heal, nudging into place and not leaving anything to chance.”
In the study that has been published, Mr Karidis was able to conclude that his gynaecomastia stitching technique was useful in minimising haematoma, yielding good results for the patient. If you’re interested in learning more about the male breast reduction procedure and Mr Karidis’ approach, call us on 020 3811 5982 to book your consultation.