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Is There Anyway to Predict if Someone Will Have Dog Ears Before a TT?

asked 1 year ago by 3coolcats in Tampa, FL
Latest answer by Steven Wallach, MD
Question viewed 998 times
Tags: age 25-34, 110-129 lbs, 5 ft 4 in to 5 ft 7 in, dog ears

I've been reading about a lot of patients who experience dogears (hip bulges) after a TT. Is there any way to predict in advance who will experience this? (I am 5'4", 125 lbs w/a good amount of padding on my hips and fairly small waist) I can't really afford to do lipo too, but understand its cheaper to do at same time as TT than as a separate procedure done later on. I would be very unhappy to spend all this money and then have dogears after. Thanks for your advice!

17 answers to Is There Anyway to Predict if Someone Will Have Dog Ears Before a TT?

Dog ears after tummy tuck

Dog ears can occur when there is excess skin of the flanks and the incisions are limited to the front of the abdomen. The more abdominal skin you remove from the abdomen the longer the incision needs to be to prevent formation of a dog ear. Your surgeon can demonstrate the expected length of your incision during your consultation. When significant excess skin is present in the thigh and buttock an incision going completely around the body will be necessary to achieve the best... more

Robert W. Kessler, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

www.drrobkessler.com

Dogears after Tummy Tuck most often a matter of design

Hi there- While there are certainly patient factors that may contribute to the risk of needing to have a dogear managed after surgery, including being overweight at the time of surgery, having lots of stretch marks in the hip area, etc..., there are also technical and planning details (that your surgeon controls) that can contribute to the risk... In other words, provided you are a good candidate for the surgery (and it sounds like you are), you should remember that aesthetic surgery more

Armando Soto, MD
Orlando Plastic Surgeon

www.DrArmandoSoto.com

Preventing Dog-Ears after Tummy Tuck

We always try to prevent dog-ears (excess skin and fat at the end of a scar line) from occurring. A well designed incision is important; if we try to limit the length of the incision too much, dog-ears will result. Still, even in the best of hands, dog ears can sometimes lead us to do a little "touch-up" with local anesthetic, in the office to remove the dog ear.

Paul C. Zwiebel, MD
Denver Plastic Surgeon

Dog ears after tummy tuck

I work very hard to try to avoid dog ear formation after a tummy tuck, but inevitably once in a while I have to adjust the corners a few months later in some individuals.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Dog ears with tummy tuck

A small dog ear at either end of the incision at the conclusion of the operation is normal. Ensuring equal lengths to the upper and lower incisions will reduce the tendency for do ears as well as gentle de-fatting of the wound edges. Attempting to shorten the incision will likely result in a greater likelihood of dog ears.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Dog ears after tummy tuck

Dog ears actually occur as a result of excess fatty tissue more so than excess skin. One way to avoid this is it to perform a thorough liposuction of the flanks and hips at the time of the abdominoplasty. If the corner of the lateral incision has too much subcutaneous fat at the end of the procedure, you will get dog ears. Since I almost always aggressively liposuction this area, I rarely experience these pesky bulges. Ocassionally, we see what I call dog tags, which is just a... more

Sam M Sukkar, MD
Houston Plastic Surgeon

Avoiding "Dog Ears" with tummy tuck.

Thanks for your question - In our San Francisco area practice we frequently perform abdominoplasty. The biggest factor causing dog ears (think triangles of extra tissue at the ends of the incision that stick out somewhat) is performing abdominoplasty in people that are a bit overweight. Techniques like liposuction or extending the scar can be used to avoid this in patients that are a bit heavy. With your weight it would be unlikely that you wound have this as an issue.... more

Steven H. Williams, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

Dog ears after tummy tuck

If your surgeon carefully measures the upper and lower incisions at the time of your abdominoplasty, dog ears can be avoided. They may occur if the patient limits the length of the incision, but your surgeon should guide you as to what is necessary. Liposuction of the hips can help as well.

David A. Lickstein, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Re: Dog ears after tummy tuck?

Generally speaking someone of your body size should not have dog ears following an abdominoplasty. I typically make liposuction of the hip region an integral part of the procedure to allow a better transition from the now flat abdomen to the anterior hip area. An experienced plastic surgeon should really be able to avoid dog ears with slight adjustments to the incision at the time of closure. If it does happen a small revision can be easily done in the office afterwards under local anesthesia. more

William F. DeLuca Jr, MD
Albany Plastic Surgeon

www.delucaplasticsurgery.com

Dog Ears After Tummy Tuck

There is no reason why anyone should have dog ears after a tummy tuck. However, you need to let the surgeon make an appropriate incision for your anatomy. Some patients demand a certain length incision (usually too short than is needed for a nice results and they could end up with dog ears. When you make your bed, you need to pull the sheets up all the way across the bed. If you only pull from the middle then the edges will bunch up. This is the same thing... more

David Shafer, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.ShaferPlasticSurgery.com

Managing dog ears after tummy tuck surgery

The best way to deal with dog ears after tummy tuck surgery is to prevent them in the first place. Careful design of the skin removal, in addition to aggressive liposuction of the lateral abdomen and flanks will eliminate this problem.

Scott Sattler, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

Dog Ears after Tummy Tuck

Dog Ears are redundant skin at the ends of a tummy tuck incision. They may be larger or small. It occurs because of a geometry issue. The way to guarantee that they do not occur is to make the incison long but this may result in an incision that is longer than it has to be. In my practice, I try to keep the incision short, knwoing that small dog ears may occur. These are usually small and can easily be corrected in the office with a small procedure that takes only a few minutes. ... more

Matthew Schulman, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Predicting and Correcting Dog Ears

Dog ears come from a mismatch in the amount of skin on the top of the incision versus the bottom. Seamstresses would refer to "dog ears" as "pleating" and create them purposely by pushing more fabric on one side of their stitch line than the other. Patients with larger skin excesses (which you do not seem to have) especially after weight loss, tend to have skin excess that goes further back on their hips and so are more prone to dog ears. A... more

John LoMonaco, MD
Houston Plastic Surgeon

www.DrLoMonaco.com

Incision after tummy tuck

In general, thinner patients with less hanging, loose skin are less likely to have significant dog ears after the procedure, and it sounds like you may fall into this category. However, if for some reason after the procedure you end up with excess skin or a poor scar on the lateral edges of your incision, in most cases this can be revised by your surgeon with local anesthetic in his office, so it should not be costly and may even be very inexpensive. Speak with your surgeon about... more

Shahram Salemy, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

www.drsalemy.com

Dog ears in tummy tucks can be avoided.

The reason dog ears occur is because the incision is too short. The more you push to keep the incision short the more likely you will have redundant skin at the end of the incisions. Liposcution is not required to eliminate dog ears you just have to remove enough skin. Best Wishes Dr. Peterson

Marcus L. Peterson, MD
Saint George Plastic Surgeon

Dog Ears in Tummy Tuck Can be Avoided or Minimized

Dog ears are less likely in your situation (normal body weight) than in someone who is a good bit heavier. There are ways that an experienced plastic surgeon can minimize or avoid dog ears. If they do result from a TT, it is fairly simple to correct later.

John Whitt, MD
Louisville Plastic Surgeon

Predict if Someone Will Have Dog Ears Before a TT

It is the responsibility of the plastic surgeon to extend the incision far enough laterally to avoid the "dog ear " deformity. If after the surgery you have one the revision in most cases can be done under local anesthesia only. Please understand the patient do not want the extended scar but to avoid a dog ear this extension is necessary.