What Could Be Causing my Upper Abdomen to Swell After Tummy Tuck?

1. Swelling from liposuction 2. Swelling from muscle tightening. In the upper half of the abdomen, especially after a high tension abdomenoplasty, there can be excess swelling in the upper abdomen. 3. Fluid. Although your doctor has ruled this out. 4. Widening of the muscle after repair. That seems like an unfortunate event; you should have heard a pop or felt some activity that caused the muscles to release. 5. Relaxation of the muscles as a result of no exercise or activity. My advice is... more

On rare occasions, I have seen the compression garments "gather" around your midsection causing a tourniquet like effect with swelling above this area similar to the swelling seen above a tight leg stocking. see video

Tummy tucks are very popular and effective technique to contour the abdomen and tightened the patient's waist. During the surgery, your surgeon will perform several suture techniques to tighten the muscle layer you a smaller waist. It is possible that the bulge in your upper abdomen may be a slight loosening of the sutures. However the best way to determine the cause is to return to your plastic surgeon for an examination. They will be able to determine if this bulge is from the... more

Periumbilical swelling after a tummy tuck is not unusual.  Since the surgeon did not feel it was fluid, it could be swelling or residual fatty tissue under the skin.

The upper abdominal subcutaneous tissues are often thicker than in the lower abdomen especially, after a Tummy Tuck. This can be due to intrinsic presence of subcutaneous fat, or because the lower abdominal soft tissue layer is pulled tighter, thus producing a thinning effect. There can also be a side-to-side gathering of the upper abdominal fat layer and skin if the upper abdominal muscles are pulled together significantly without redistribution of the overlying soft tissues. This bunching... more