1546.1 – Abdominoplasty with repair of rectus diastasis (also known as rectus divarication) following pregnancy

Amendment of existing MBS item(s).

The proposed medical service is surgical repair of a symptomatic rectus diastasis that is a consequence of pregnancy, which is over the threshold distance of 3cm, and where patients have a recognised and documented pattern of symptoms - low back pain, daily abdominal discomfort on functional use, and/or urinary incontinence. The repair would involve suturing the musculoaponeurotic layer of the abdominal wall, and include associated excision of redundant skin and fat, and transposition of the umbilicus (radical abdominoplasty). It would not be performed within 12 months of pregnancy.

Type: Therapeutic

The medical condition is the combination of low back pain, truncal instability, abdominal discomfort, +/- urinary incontinence, associated with significant rectus abdominis diastasis. This constellation of symptoms is not currently named as a syndrome, but meets the definition of a syndrome (Oxford English Dictionary definition of a syndrome is “a collection of symptoms that consistently occur together, or a condition characterised by a consistent set of symptoms”), and could be named “Rectus diastasis syndrome”.

• PASC meeting: Expedited – bypassing PASC
• ESC meeting: 10 to 11 June 2021
• MSAC meeting: 29 to 30 July 2021