Mommy Makeover: Q&A

Ask a Question

I Am Schedule to Have a Tummy Tuck with Breast Lift. Doc Says I May End Up Having a T Scar After? (photo)

My doctor is not sure but told me that I may end up having a T scar after the full tummy tuck due to not having a enough skin to pull it through. I am very concern. Is there any way somebody can tell me based on my picture if I would end up having the T section for tummy tuck or it is completely unknown until I am under the procedure. I just don’t want to have a surprise. Would really appreciate any help and advice. I am 36 year old, 124lb and overall in a very good health.

Tags:

Comment on this

21 Doctor Answers | Asked by almas2012 in san jose, ca

Doctor Answers (21)
Community Comments (0)

T-scar tummy tuck better than high scar

There is no way to judge for certain whether the skin will pull down enough to keep the scar in a low position prior to surgery, when the belly button is located high as it appears to be in your case. The T-closure is really an upside down T, but it is usually fairly short and can fade very nicely. The alternative would be to make the entire scar higher which is not a good idea.

Possible T scar

A small T scar is a possibility in your case due to your belly button being higher on your abdomen. Your surgeon is trying to be open with you and let you know what you may expect to see after surgery.

Mennen T. Gallas, MD

8 reviews

Houston Plastic Surgeon

Inverted T incision after Tummy Tuck

Your belly button is high, and your plastic surgeon is obligated to tell you that the belly button may not be removed - leaving a small vertical scar where it used to lie on the skin.

Tummy Tuck

A few patients have severe post-pregnancy skin and soft tissue excess that cannot be adequately corrected by means of a horizontal, suprapubic incision alone. In select patients, a vertical midline incision can be added to allow removal of skin excess in a horizontal as well as vertical direction. A great advantage of adding this incision is the ability to draw the waist inward as the tummy tuck is closed. This procedure is sometimes referred to as an 'anchor' or 'inverted-T abdominoplasty',... more

Michael Law, MD

17 reviews

Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon

michaellawmd.com

Unlikely but if present it would be very small and near your pubic bone

Hello, Thank your for the question and the photos. There is a possibilty that your current belly button location may not be able to be excised because of insufficient laxity but this is not likely the case. If this occurs the circular defect of the skin where your current belly button is located will be closed as a vertical incision and it will be located near your pubic bone. Regardless, if planned and executed properly you should have a very nice result. I would... more

T Scar After TT

A small vertical incision can be needed in TT if the skin from the lower part of the breast bone to the navel does not have enough laxity to reach down to the main incision, In that setting, the hole from the navel must be closed, since it will not be removed as part of the excess. It is possible to avoid this by making the main scar higher, but to me that makes no sense, because the entire scar is now higher. Often the vertical part can be excised a year later as a minor touch up... more

"T" scars for tummy tuck

The "T" scar is the small scar that rises up from the horizontal tummy tuck scar. You get it when there is not enough loose skin above the belly button to allow the skin around the belly button to be completely removed. It usually heals very well and is not usually very long. Sometimes the surgeon can't tell 100% before surgery. Sounds like your surgeon is being honest with you. Good luck.

Tummy tuck with "T" scar

If you had a "T" scar it would most likely be a small vertical incision but you should clarify that with your PS. The vertical incision is from closure of your old belly button and usually heals very well. Better to have that short vertical scar than to pull up your pubic hair with excessive tension or have a high transverse scar.

Robert Kearney, MD, FACS

6 reviews

La Jolla Plastic Surgeon

T scar after tummy tuck

A t shaped scar is a rare situation after a tummy tuck. There are two groups of patients who will tend to have this. The first is a patient who is relatively skinny and doesn't have enough skin stretch to perform a full tummy tuck. The second group are patients that have a very high riding belly button. I think that this is what your surgeon is concerned about in your case. Judging from your pictures, I think it is unlikely that you will need this because you appear to have a fair amount of... more

T scar after tummy tuck

Based on your photos, I have not had to use the T scar tummy tuck in your kind of situation as you have enough loose skin to perform a tummy tuck with a horizontal scar. Some patients with a high belly button may have a short scar from the hole that is created from the incision around the belly button and perhaps this is what your surgeon is considering. However, based on your photos alone, I feel that this would not be necessary. It is very difficult to ascertain your... more

Vertical Scar after Tummy Tuck?

Thank you for the question and pictures. It sounds like your plastic surgeon is preparing you well for what to expect after the tummy tuck procedure. Patients who are undergoing tummy tuck surgery and have specific anatomic characteristics are more likely to end up with a short vertical scar at the midline of the transverse scar. These patients tend to have a relatively “high riding umbilicus” in relation to their torso and their planned tummy tuck incision line... more

I Am Schedule to Have a Tummy Tuck with Breast Lift. Doc Says I May End Up Having a T Scar After? (photo)

Based upon your posted photos the vertical component of the scar/incision is related to the following factors. The placement of the horizontal incision. In other words the lower this incision the more likely the vertical incision will be needed. Next the anatomic nature of your abdomen depicts a "longer" distance from the pubic hairline to the bb. Thus there may not be enough excess skin for removal to avoid the vertical incision. Finally the expectation you desire can also end with this... more

T scar in abdominoplasty sometimes necessary

Thank you for your question and the photos. A T scar is sometimes necessary in patients who do not have significant skin laxity above the umbilicus (belly button). I find patients who need a tummy tuck rarely need a T scar but if they do, it is short and hidden in the bikini line. It is hard to tell if you need one without an in-person examination to determine how much skin laxity you have above the belly button. Based on your photos I would guess you do not... more

Possibility for a lower midline incision/scar

Your plastic surgeon is likely referring to the need for a small lower midline scar. The reason why he/she is telling you this is that the distance from your umbilicus (belly button) to your waist crease is fairly long. you also have a fairly long/tall trunk based on your photos. A physical exam would be needed to determine if indeed you will need this lower midline scar.

T-scar after tummy tuck

Thanks for your inquiry. I believe what your plastic surgeon means is that you might have a small vertical component of a scar. This might happen, but it should be quite a short vertical scar, approximately 2-3 cms. Good luck.

"T" Scar Abdominoplasty

If you do not have enough skin between the belly button and the pubis to remove then you may have an inverted "T" scar. This may be would you have to accept if you decide to proceed in return for a better abdominal contour. Dr.ES

T scar with tummy tuck

That certainly is a possibility itbis something that may not be able to be determined until you are in the operating rroom your surgeon is correct in informing you of that possibility

Options for tummy tuck scar

If you want your TT scar to be very low down on your abdomen and it would be very difficult to move the skin just above your belly button down to the top of your pubic hair ( because your belly button sits so high on your abdomen), you have a choice. You can have the T incision if the hole from the belly button can't be moved all the way down and removed, or you can have an "Umbilical Float" procedure. The umbilical float places the abdominal incision at the lowest part of the... more

Jeffrey M. Darrow, MD

18 reviews

Boston Plastic Surgeon

T-scar after tummy tuck

Based on your photo, I would guess you would have a T-scar It is unlikely that all of the skin below you belly button would be removed If your belly button was lower to start with, it would be more likely that you wouldn't need the vertical portion of the scar Even with the T-scar, you will like the improvement

Tummy tuck and T incision

You do appear to have a long distance from the pubic hair line to the bellly button. In cases like yours it is better in my mind to make a T or to vertically close the old belly button hole rather then placing your incision line higher up on your stomach where it would be seen more often. Sounds like your doctor has a good plan for you, Good Luck!

Because of the umbilicus, occasionally a verical closure below the new navel is part of the final scar.

The photo shows a navel that is positioned high on the abdominal wall. It is possible that the hole in the abdominal drape created by freeing the umbilicus will not be able to be removed as part of the amputated drape. This hole would then be closed vertically somewhere between the new navel and the horizontal incision.