"Spare Tire" like swelling after TT!!!!???!

I had a tummy tuck 4 days ago. I had a large ammount of loose skin from a 110lb weight loss. I had a HUGE pannus removed that humg over my pubic region. My doctor did not perform muscle tightening, but did perform lipo on my sides and then tightened my tummy and removed my pannus. But i now have this odd spare tire look on my sides. The center has flattened out nicely but the sides are very bruised and have a weird bump and look awful. I haven't seen or heard of anyone looking like this after. Will lthis smooth out? Will I always have that weird side indent/muffin top/spare tire? Have other patients had a similar look when coming out? Is it jsut swelling or a bad shape? Please help!

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9 Doctor Answers | Asked by M_wilson86 in San Francisco, CA

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Bulge four days after tummy tuck

Abdominoplasty after massive weight loss is a much harder procedure than most give credit. Skin laxity is not just in the vertical direction but also substantially in the horizontal direction. This usually means that a better result will be gained with the addition of a vertical scar to enable the surgeon to pull in the tissues from the side. Four days is certainly too soon to judge the final result. My concern is that you may well have a hematoma, or blood collection... more

Yes, no, yes, neither.

It appears that you have either a hematoma (collection of blood under the skin) or a seroma (collection of tissue fluid under the skin). In either case the blood and/or fluid needs to be removed. This can be aspirated or it may reqire opening you up again to fix it. It should not look this way.

Spare tire after TT

With the amount of bruising you see, I bet it's simply bruising/swelling that will resolve over time. you need to be examined to r/o a drainable hematoma or seroma. BTW a fleur de lis incision leaves you with a vertical incision and an Upside down T of scar frought with problems. It is not a panacea and should be considered only in the most loose abdomens. if your surgeon thinks you need it later, it can always be revised.

Spare tire

I would suggest you discuss your concerns with your surgeon. He/she would best be suited to answer. There may be a need to extend the incision laterally or consider a vertical component.

Swelling following tummy tuck

I agree, you do have quite a bit of fullness around your scar. The best advice will come from your surgeon as they will know what it looked like at the end of the operation. This could be swelling from retained blood or fluid, in which case if it was drained, things will improve. However, this could be excess tissue that was not excised, in which case, as Dr Jugenburg says, a vertical incision could have helped to bring this in. Go and see your surgeon and see... more

Tummy tuck swlling

It is very early after your tummy tuck with the usual swelling. Thing will definitely change over ime as the swelling decreases. It appears that you had a large skin excess throughout. Sometimes a circumferential abdominoplasty is indicated. This may be done at a separate time. With the procedure you had the incision had to stop somewhere and often there will be some extra on the sides. However as I said you must wait until the swelling has gone down. more

Lateral swelling after tummy tuck

Four days as FAR too early to judge the results of a tummy tuck or any other aesthetic procedure. Keep in close contact with your surgeon, listen to what he says, obey his instructions and be patient!

Bulging after a tummy tuck

It would seem that you had a large weight loss and most likely a large pannus removed. You had excess skin horizontally and transversely. To address this problem a vertical incision would have been helpful to bring in the sides and flatten the 'spare tire'. Is this something you discussed with your plastic surgeon as an option during the tummy tuck? Sincerely, Martin Jugenburg, MD

Spare-tire-like swelling after tummy tuck

Thanks for the photo. It's a little hard to be sure, but I do see the fullness at the sides, and it looks like you have a bulge on either side of your belly-button area that may be 6 inches or so in diameter. Fullness at the sides is to be expected when a patient with a large pannus has the pannus removed without removing the tissue on the sides or back (as is done with a circumferential abdominoplasty or lower body lift). Not a complication, just the expected result... more