Patients will undergo abdominal surgery (panniculectomy, abdominoplasty, ventral hernia repair, or autologous flap reconstruction using abdominal donor tissue). Following closure of the incision, patients will either have a gauze dressing placed over the incision (control group), or incisional vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy. The dressing will be removed over a time period of 2 to 5 days after surgery. The gauze dressing will be removed at 2 days and the wound VAC will be removed at 5 days. After this time, the wound will be assessed for signs of infection, seroma, hematoma, skin and fat necrosis, skin dehiscence, and hernia during the follow-up appointments.