Tummy Tuck Revision: Q&A
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Is It Safe to Have a Second Full Tummy Tuck?
I had a full tummy tuck 8 months ago. I still look like I am 4 months pregnant. I have to suck in my stomach. My PS tells me I will need to redo my full surgery again. He is not sure why I am not as flat as I should be. He thinks it may be my muscle. I have muscle repair done the first time also. I will not be charged full price.
How safe is it to redo the surgery? Is it too early? Is the pain and recovery time the same as the first?
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11 Doctor Answers |
Asked by
Confused_Scared
in WI
+2
Redo tummy tuck after 8 months
The single biggest cause of a persistent bulge after a tummy tuck done by a competent plastic surgeon is fat inside the abdomen. This cannot be fixed by more tummy tucks, but must be cured with weight loss.
Intraabdominal fat is the worst with respect to diabetes and heart disease, so it is worth pursuing.
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Secondary tummy tucks are safe
Having to redo a tummy tuck is an unusual circumstance, but if you are healthy, it should be a safe procedure. It is impossible to know from an internet posting why you did not get the result you were hoping for, and I am glad that your surgeon is speaking to you about this and is willing to help you for a reduced fee. In the same way that it is sometimes valuable to see more than one surgeon in consultation, it probably makes sense now to get a second opinion from another board certified...
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Safe to redo portions of Tummy Tuck, but weight loss could be answer
When you say that you must still hold your stomach in to gain the desired look suggests there is something wrong with the muscle tightening component of your tummy tuck. It is possible that not enough tightening was initially achieved or that the sutures responsible for the tightening gave way. Repeating the muscle suturing is safe and may be the answer.
However, if you are harboring a significant quantity of intrabdominal fat then no amount of muscle tightening will help. Intrabdomiinal...
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Secondary tummy tuck
The situation you have described is rare.
However, a second tummy tuck can be performed usually after 6 months. This is to allow all the swelling to subside and the tissues to reach their pre-surgery softness.
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Second tummy tuck should be just as safe as the first
In regard to your question about repeat Tummy Tuck safety - Yes, it is safe as long as you are in good health. Re-do tummy tucks are not that common. In my experience it occurs most often when patients lose more weight, get pregnant or when the original tummy tuck wasn't done to the patients satisfaction int the first place. This could be due to the skin not being tightened enough, or to the surgeon not tightening the muscles or not tightening the muscles enough.
I do not think it is too...
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Second Tummy Tuck is safe- but outcome will depend on source of problem
Hi there-
Without knowing more, it is hard for me to understand why you may not have gotten the outcome you desired.
Having said that, it is safe to re-do your operation (just extremely rare). Be sure you carefully follow your surgeons every instruction.
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Second tummy tuck
Without all the specifics of your case it is very difficult to give you a 100% accurate answer, however if I have to guess, one of the possible causes of your problem is the way in which your surgeon performed the muscle thightening. Sometimes the surgeon uses a running suture which is possible to brake after the surgery, if this happen the repair will fail.
Your surgeon should be able to explain this to you
Again the most important factor in the outcome of your surgery is the choice of...
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Secondary tummy tuck
There is not enough information to advise you on whether or not to proceed with a secondary surgery. The thing I can suggest is to be completely sure the surgeon who does the surgery has made a reasonable diagnosis as to why the first operation failed. If that is not done, the second operation may be doomed to repeat the first failure. If the muscle is atonic or weak, the needs to be addressed or rectified.
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Re-do tummy tucks are rare
What you are describing is very rare. While it is safe to do, either there is a problem with your tissue, a problem with what activities you did during recovery, a problem with the experience level of your surgeon, or maybe you are not in optimal shape for the best result. Make sure this is answered before redoing the surgery.
An old saying in surgery is that "if plan A didn't work, plan B shouldn't look like plan A."
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Safety of a Re-Do Tummy Tuck
Without photographs it is hard to SPECIFICALLY respond to your particular situation. In my experience, it is EXTREMELY unusual to have to go back and re-do a tummy tuck in the absence of something which may have caused disruption of the muscle tightening (such as pregnancy, massive obesity, trauma etc). From your description, it sounds as if the muscle tightening failed early after the surgery but without a reason, I cannot understand why.
By 8-12 months everything should be healed. But,...
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Secondary Tummy Tuck
It is unusual to have to have a second tummy tuck. However, we do not know all the circumstances of your situation or have before and after pictures. Sometimes the rectus plication (tightening of the muscles) looses and needs to be replaced - however, again, this would be very unusual. In this instance, the recovery is much less than the original surgery as the same incisions are used . In some cases, the rectus plication is not performed for one reason or another at the original surgery...
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