Abdominoplasty is a great procedure for removing extra skin for people who are at their ideal body weight. With abdominoplasty, you can expect for the overhang of skin that you have along your lower abdomen to be removed. The upper abdomen will not change much. I would recommend attempting weight loss prior to abdominoplasty to achieve the best result.
The bulge could either be from a fluid collection, or could be from a little extra skin and fat. Sometimes, even though we pull the skin as tight as possible, the skin can stretch some after surgery. In addition, it is unsafe to cut too much of the fat from the upper flap at the time of surgery. You would likely benefit from a scar revision to help with your scar widening, and some of that fat could be debulked at that time. I would discuss this with your surgeon as most plastic surgeons will have a revision policy in place.
Hi, first of all let me just say that you look great! Congratulations on leading a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately it is common to have some of these asymmetries, or uneven lines after surgery. They can be difficult to correct without completely redoing the abdominoplasty.
Abdominoplasty is a very safe procedure. When done in an appropriate setting, by a board certified plastic surgeon the risk profile is relatively low. The most severe risks would be: Risk of death is 0.03%, risk of DVT 0.2%. Most of these complications are going to occur in patients who have other risk factors or other medical conditions. There is no such thing as no risk surgery, but in a healthy patient risks are very low!
Given the degree of asymmetry you had preoperatively, you may have something called tuberous breast deformity with protrusion of some of the breast tissue into the areola. This can be difficult to correct. It is hard to make an accurate diagnosis without photos. It is also hard to say if it could have been avoided, as scars will heal differently and there are many factors that contribute to that healing.
