Prospective One-Year Evaluation of the Safety and Effectiveness of an Investigator-Developed Rectus Abdominis Plication Technique in Abdominoplasty

September 1, 2026 updated by: Research Inc
This prospective single-group study will evaluate an investigator-developed rectus abdominis plication performed during abdominoplasty. Standardized ultrasound will measure inter-rectus distance before surgery and at 3 and 12 months. The primary outcome is change in mean inter-rectus distance at one year. Recurrence, abdominal wall function, BODY-Q satisfaction, surgical complications, and reoperation will also be assessed.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Adults undergoing primary abdominoplasty with rectus diastasis will receive a standardized plication described in a locked operative manual. Baseline and postoperative ultrasound will measure the inter-rectus distance at three fixed abdominal levels. Operative variables and protocol adherence will be recorded. Follow-up visits through month 12 will assess anatomical durability, recurrence, abdominal wall function, patient-reported satisfaction, and complications. The study is designed to generate reproducible one-year safety and effectiveness estimates and to identify factors associated with recurrence.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Jose D Salazar, MD, Plastic surgeon
  • Phone Number: +57 311 6058486
  • Email: heimdal007@gmail.com

Study Locations

  • Colombia
      • Medellín, Colombia
        • Recruiting
        • IQ interquirofanos
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 to 65 years.
  • Scheduled for primary abdominoplasty with rectus plication.
  • Rectus diastasis documented clinically or by baseline ultrasound.
  • Stable body weight for at least 3 months before surgery.
  • Ability to complete ultrasound and clinical follow-up through 12 months.
  • Written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior major abdominal wall reconstruction or mesh repair that prevents standardized plication assessment.
  • Ventral or incisional hernia requiring a separate reconstructive procedure.
  • Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or planned pregnancy during the 12-month follow-up.
  • Uncontrolled systemic disease or contraindication to elective abdominoplasty.
  • BMI greater than 35 kg/m2 unless the final operative protocol intentionally includes this population.
  • Inability to obtain technically adequate baseline ultrasound measurements.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Investigator-Developed Rectus Plication
Participants undergo abdominoplasty with the standardized investigator-developed plication and complete one-year anatomical, functional, and safety follow-up.
Procedure: Investigator-Developed Rectus Abdominis Plication
A standardized plication is performed during abdominoplasty. The locked operative appendix will specify patient position, exposure, cranial and caudal limits, suture material, number of layers, stitch configuration, target tension, intraoperative measurements, and management of associated hernia if permitted. Linked arm/group(s): Investigator-Developed Rectus Plication.
Diagnostic test: Standardized Abdominal Wall Ultrasound
Inter-rectus distance will be measured at fixed levels during a standardized respiratory phase and abdominal muscle state. Three measurements per level will be averaged by a trained assessor. Linked arm/group(s): Investigator-Developed Rectus Plication.
Active Comparator: abdominoplasty without plication
Participants undergo abdominoplasty without the standardized investigator-developed plication and complete one-year anatomical, functional, and safety follow-up.
Diagnostic test: Standardized Abdominal Wall Ultrasound
Inter-rectus distance will be measured at fixed levels during a standardized respiratory phase and abdominal muscle state. Three measurements per level will be averaged by a trained assessor. Linked arm/group(s): Investigator-Developed Rectus Plication.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Mean waist perimeter
Time Frame: Baseline and postoperative month 12. 12 months
waist perimeter in cm will be measured by a meter at fixed supraumbilical levels. Change is 12-month minus baseline distance; a more negative value indicates greater narrowing.
Baseline and postoperative month 12. 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of Plication-Related Major Complications
Time Frame: From surgery through postoperative month 12.
Proportion of participants with abdominal compartment symptoms requiring intervention, plication disruption, symptomatic recurrence, reoperation, thromboembolic event, respiratory compromise attributed to increased abdominal pressure, or other serious event adjudicated as related to plication.
From surgery through postoperative month 12.
Change in Abdominal Wall Physical Function
Time Frame: Baseline, postoperative month 3, and postoperative month 12.
Change in the selected validated abdominal/core function instrument or BODY-Q Physical Function score. The final instrument and scoring rules will be locked before enrollment.
Baseline, postoperative month 3, and postoperative month 12.
Change in BODY-Q Abdomen Satisfaction Score
Time Frame: Baseline, postoperative month 6, and postoperative month 12.
Rasch-transformed 0-to-100 BODY-Q Abdomen score; higher values indicate greater satisfaction with abdominal appearance. Use requires the appropriate license and authorized translation.
Baseline, postoperative month 6, and postoperative month 12.
Incidence of Standard Abdominoplasty Complications
Time Frame: From surgery through postoperative day 30. 30 days
Proportion with seroma requiring aspiration, hematoma, surgical-site infection, wound dehiscence, skin necrosis, venous thromboembolism, or unplanned reoperation.
From surgery through postoperative day 30. 30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Research Inc

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: jose D Salazar

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 12, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 1, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 011 (Nahrain Medical Research Collective (NMRC))

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

no contemplated in the patient informed consent

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Subscribe