Oxidative Stress and Tissue Remodeling in a Rat Abdominal Seroma Model
- 1Washington University in St. Louis
Abstract
Seroma is a common complication following abdominoplasty and other procedures involving extensive soft tissue dissection. Although animal seroma models have been reported, the stromal pathology underlying post-abdominoplasty seroma, particularly the role of oxidative stress, remains poorly characterized. Here, we developed a rat abdominal seroma model by surgically separating the subcutaneous tissue from the underlying muscle fascia and investigated the temporal evolution of the associated stromal response. Seroma developed in 9 of 20 operated rats, corresponding to a formation rate of 45.0%. Longitudinal ultrasound demonstrated that fluid accumulation peaked around postoperative day (POD) 7 and largely resolved by POD30. Despite macroscopic fluid resolution, substantial stromal remodeling persisted. Compared with normal abdominal tissue, seroma-associated tissues at POD14 and POD35 exhibited increased collagen deposition, macrophage accumulation, oxidative injury, and vascular remodeling. Additionally, at POD35, macrophage accumulation and 4-hydroxynonenal staining were greater than at POD14, whereas collagen deposition and vascular density remained elevated with no significant differences between postoperative time points. To our knowledge, this study presents the first rat model specifically designed to reproduce post-abdominoplasty seroma and the first temporal characterization of oxidative stress within seroma-associated tissue. These findings reveal that seroma fluid resolution does not coincide with stromal recovery and identify persistent oxidative stress, inflammation, fibrosis, and vascular remodeling as important features of seroma pathology.
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BibTeX
@misc{xia2026oxidative,
title = {{Oxidative Stress and Tissue Remodeling in a Rat Abdominal Seroma Model}},
author = {X. Xia and A. M. Nour and K. He and A. Boukind and Y. Guo and S. Hao and B. Arif and L. Schellhardt and M. A. Zayed and A. E. Gelman and M. D. Wood and J. M. Sacks and X. Li},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.06.757126},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.06.757126v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Oxidative Stress and Tissue Remodeling in a Rat Abdominal Seroma Model
AU - X. Xia
AU - A. M. Nour
AU - K. He
AU - A. Boukind
AU - Y. Guo
AU - S. Hao
AU - B. Arif
AU - L. Schellhardt
AU - M. A. Zayed
AU - A. E. Gelman
AU - M. D. Wood
AU - J. M. Sacks
AU - X. Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.06.757126
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.06.757126v1
AB - Seroma is a common complication following abdominoplasty and other procedures involving extensive soft tissue dissection. Although animal seroma models have been reported, the stromal pathology underlying post-abdominoplasty seroma, particularly the role of oxidative stress, remains poorly characterized. Here, we developed a rat abdominal seroma model by surgically separating the subcutaneous tissue from the underlying muscle fascia and investigated the temporal evolution of the associated stromal response. Seroma developed in 9 of 20 operated rats, corresponding to a formation rate of 45.0%. Longitudinal ultrasound demonstrated that fluid accumulation peaked around postoperative day (POD) 7 and largely resolved by POD30. Despite macroscopic fluid resolution, substantial stromal remodeling persisted. Compared with normal abdominal tissue, seroma-associated tissues at POD14 and POD35 exhibited increased collagen deposition, macrophage accumulation, oxidative injury, and vascular remodeling. Additionally, at POD35, macrophage accumulation and 4-hydroxynonenal staining were greater than at POD14, whereas collagen deposition and vascular density remained elevated with no significant differences between postoperative time points. To our knowledge, this study presents the first rat model specifically designed to reproduce post-abdominoplasty seroma and the first temporal characterization of oxidative stress within seroma-associated tissue. These findings reveal that seroma fluid resolution does not coincide with stromal recovery and identify persistent oxidative stress, inflammation, fibrosis, and vascular remodeling as important features of seroma pathology.
ER -