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Cutting Around Belly Button to Avoid Tummy Tuck Scarring?
asked 3 years ago by parson3 in North Apollo, Pa
Latest answer by Steven Teitelbaum, MD
Question viewed 604 times
Tags: belly button, incision, scar
The scar on the full Tummy Tuck scares me; is there anyway you can cut a circle around the belly button and pull the skin in to make the new belly button?
4 answers to Cutting Around Belly Button to Avoid Tummy Tuck Scarring?
+1
Belly button incision limitations
The incisions are what they are. There are certain geometric limitations on what can be sewn to what without producing a gathered appearance.
A belly button incision usually can gather the tissue only so much before the belly button starts to look bizarre and puckered. It is OK for small looseness around the belly button but not for more.
There are many minimal incision tummy tucks now available for the right candidate such as the endoscopic tummy tuck or the Hybrid tummy tuck (TM).
But...
more
+1
The procedure is largely abandoned
I've seen a few patients who have had this done, and universally they have looked awful. The belly button was stretched, skin was a little irregular around it, and their laxity was inadequately corrected.
There's a reason why this procedure never caught on.
Steven Teitelbaum, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
+1
No Belly Button Scar Tummy Tuck
The belly button scar in a full tummy tuck is quite small compared to the tummy tuck scar itself.
If there is not a large amount of skin to be removed, an Avelar lipo abdominoplasty can be performed without placing a scar around the belly button. In this procedure, the belly button remains attached to the skin and is freed from the muscles. When the skin is pulled down, the belly button is lowered 1-2 inches.
Good luck.
Richard L. Dolsky, MD
Philadelphia Plastic Surgeon
Philadelphia Plastic Surgeon
+1
Belly button surgeries are extremely limited
Only an extremely small amout can be accomplished with just an incision around the belly button. If you have any significant amount of lax skin, some version of a tummy tuck will be best. The scar fades well in the end and you get the tightest, flattest tummy possible.


