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Difference Between Traditional Tuck and Floating? Are There Any Issues With Reattaching The Belly Button?

asked 11 months ago by dsc1
Latest answer by Vivek Bansal, MD
Question viewed 529 times
Tags: comparison, floating belly button

What is the difference between traditional tummy tuck where cut outside around button and new techniques where button is floated underneath? My doc says can put back same place and reattach stalk? Whole idea bugs me but not sure why? Can you work around the stalk to get to upper muscles and not cut it or does the stalk have to be cut because it is in the way? Only other option is endoscopic which not really done right? Does the stalk serve any purpose my doc says no issue because reattached.

19 answers to Difference Between Traditional Tuck and Floating? Are There Any Issues With Reattaching The Belly Button?

Floating belly button technique

Many of the floating belly button results show an abnormally low belly button-- remember the belly button must be lowered by the amount of tightening produced in the upper abdomen. Also, the umbilicus can appear flat and unnatural after a true 'float' technique, probably when the blood supply to the umbilical stalk is disrupted and the remaining belly button involutes. For that reason, we prefer to perform a modified full abdominopasty in such patients rather than a 'float'. more

Brent Moelleken, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

www.drbrent.com

The Umbilical Float vs. Traditional Transposition

The ideal candidate for a full tummy tuck is one who has moderate to severe excess skin in the upper and lower abdomen with associated laxity in the muscles and fascia. A low transverse incision is made and a lower abdominal skin flap is raised. To access the upper abdomen, a circular incision around the belly button is made – leaving it attached to the abdominal muscle wall by its stalk, which is now its sole source of blood supply. Access to the upper abdomen is now present, and the... more

Kenneth Dembny, II, MD
Milwaukee Plastic Surgeon

Tummy Tuck and belly button management

Hello Kellyc22, There are compromises associated with each type of tummy tuck and you will need to decide what's most important and what isn't. Determining which procedure is the right one for you is complex and is based on your anatomy and what you would be willing to accept. A very thorough discussion between you and your plastic surgeon should help clarify all the important points. There is nothing wrong or bad about floating the umbilicus... more

Gerald Minniti, MD, FACS
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Tummy Tuck

Your doc is right. He/she is giving good advice. Listen to them and they will have you on the right track. The only issue is if you want the navel to have a certain shape and you should express this desire to the surgeon so they can create the shape you want if in reason.

Vivek Bansal, MD
Danville Plastic Surgeon

Both techniques work depending

Standard tt: incision around bb leaving a hole in the skin. This gives access to the muscle for tightening. The skin is pulled down far enough to remove the part with the hole. If can't get the hole out, it will be sewed, leaving a small vertical scar. This is the most common tt. Altered tt: TT incision is made, lifting skin up to bb. The stalk is divided allowing access to the muscles for tightening. The skin is pulled down and the bb stalk is... more

E. Anthony Musarra II, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Standard Tummy Tuck vs. Umbilical Float Tummy Tuck

I really enjoy doing both of these procedures but they are mutually exclusive in who is a candidate. The standard tummy tuck patient has a pannus, or overhanging skin/fat that is significant enough such that the top incision will be made at the top of the belly button. The muscles can be sutured in the midline allowing for tightening and a new opening is made in the pulled down skin for the belly button to be resutured to. I find that the umbilical float tummy tuck is ideal... more

Christopher L. Hess, MD
Fairfax Plastic Surgeon

A floating belly button

From the number of responses your question has attracted you can tell that this is an interesting technical point. In brief there are some limited indications for leaving a floating belly button. It does reattach quite rapidly. But personally I do not like the idea as, as a surgeon I won't have a precise control about where the belly button is going to re-attach. If it sticks to a wrong place (not in the midline or too high or low) it can spoil the result of an otherwise... more

Anindya Lahiri, MBBS
Birmingham Plastic Surgeon

Tummy Tuck versus a Mini-Tummy Tuck

What you are really asking about is a mini-tummy tuck versus a full tummy tuck. The full tummy tuck is ideal for excess skin above and below the belly button, excess fat and stretched out muscles. In order to remove the excess skin above the belly button, the skin around the belly button is cut, the belly button stays where it always was and the skin is pulled down toward the pubic area like a window shade - excess skin is removed and the belly button inserts in the skin, by making a... more

Robert M. Freund, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Difference Between Traditional Tuck and Floating? Are There Any Issues With Reattaching The Belly Button?

As you can read "free floater" very poor option it has very few "perfect" candidates. Best to have in person evaluations from boarded PSs in your area.

Darryl J. Blinski, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Difference between results of a traditional tummy tuck and a floating tummy tuck

A traditional tummy tuck keeps the umbilicus intact while the floating tummy tuck disconnects the umbilical stalk allowing it to move inferiorly if necessary. There are many problems with the floating tummy tuck. One the umbilicus may be moved to a lower, usually abnormal position. Second, the umbilicus usually has a flatter, unnatural appearance. A traditional umbilicus remains connected to the deep tissue which will allow the umbilicus to have more of an... more

Elizabeth S. Harris, MD
San Antonio Plastic Surgeon

www.eharrismd.com

"floating" the belly button not a great idea, in my opinion

I have not been pleased at all with the results from this procedure, which I stopped performing 10 years ago due to the fact that the belly button is very distracting when it is in the "wrong" place

W. Tracy Hankins, MD
Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon

Traditional Tummy tuck vs Floating.

There are some patients in which this procedure can be a good option, and in my opinion is: when a patient has a small skin excess, and you need to thigh the abdominal muscles. Usually this patients are thin ones, with a high belly button

Francisco Sauceda, MD
Mexico Plastic Surgeon

Floating belly button in a tummy tuck

The idea of floating the belly button, keeping the belly button attached to the skin flap is actually an old idea where only a more modest amount of skin laxity is present, and the belly button is set lower as the skin moves down. Most now feel the idea was a bad one as the belly button belongs in only one place. The surgery suggested to you is not a 'float' procedure as the belly button is attached to the starting point, it is just a means for access to the length of the... more

Peter E. Johnson, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Traditional versus floating belly button

Floating the belly button is not a new technique. It is called "floating" because the stalk is cut and the belly button is "floated" along with the skin to a new lower position. In a traditional tummy tuck the stalk is not cut. The skin is cut around the belly button, left attached to the stalk, and brought through the skin which has been pulled down. In this way, the belly button sits at the same level it used to sit, and all of the connections underneath are maintained.... more

Anita Patel, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Traditional tummy tuck vs floating belly button

The traditional tummy tuck is the most commonly used procedure. This is best for removal of the excess skin and tightening the abdominal wall (which is the main reason to have a tummy tuck). The technique that floats the belly button is used only in select cases with minimal excess skin. If used in more severe cases it may distort the belly button and lower it too much. Donald R Nunn MD Atlanta Plastic Surgeon.

Donald Nunn, MD, DDS
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Tummy Tuck Options - Which is Best?

There are several very effective techniques for a tummy tuck and the appropriate one depends upon your anatomy and particular needs. A mini tummy tuck treats only excess below the belly button, a full tummy tuck treats the entire abdomen (but not the flanks and lower back - an extended tummy tuck is better here), and floating the belly button leaves it attached to the skin and is generally used for someone "in between." This is a good technique in the right candidate, but it... more

Vincent P. Marin, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

It all depends on what you need

The floating procedure is for patients that stretch the lower abdomen more and the belly button is positioned too high. The indication for each procedure is different. Please send pictures.

Kamran Khoobehi, MD
New Orleans Plastic Surgeon

Tummy Tuck with a "Floating" Umbilicus (Belly Button)

Dear KellyC22: There are several ways to do a tummy tuck, and the best method is determined by what needs to be corrected. I have provided a link and a video below (click on "more) with some general information about your tummy tuck options. The floating umbilicus technique is used when you have loose skin or muscle wall above the belly button. The stalk is a fibrous track that used to be the umbilical blood vessels and no longer serves a purpose other then anchoring the... more

Joseph Mele, MD
Walnut Creek Plastic Surgeon

Floating belly button with tummy tuck

Are you having a mini tummy tuck? One of the issues with a mini tuck is the inability to repair the muscle the full way up which can lead to a "pooch" above the belly button while the lower half of the tummy is flat and tight. Floating the belly button allows the surgeon to get all the way up there to avoid this. Another reason that we sometimes float the belly button is to avoid the scar around it when doing a full tummy tuck. I have used this technique in... more