Kirsty Boyd, MD, FRCSC

Ideally you would be able to go to your surgeon to be assessed. The area around your belly button is red and swollen and I would be a bit concerned about infection.  If the redness is receding with the antibiotics that is a good sign.  Additionally, the umbilicus itself looks slightly purplish, which can be a sign of compromised blood supply.  A medical professional should assess your abdomen in person and could help with removal of sutures, as well as making decisions regarding the redness and colour of umbilicus.  Good luck!

Unfortunately, children are VERY hard on our bodies, and particularly on our breasts.  From your photos, you have fairly widely spaced breasts that are a little bit ptotic (droopy) and have stretched areolas.  You also have a loss of upper pole fullness/cleavage, which is very very common after childbirth.

A mastopexy (or breast lift) would correct the size of the areolas and the position so that they are more symmetrical and less ptotic.  The mastopexy alone, however, does not add volume (which may be okay since you aren't interested in being larger) and does not add upper pole fullness.  The best way to achieve that is to add a small implant.  I know you had a bad experience previously, but with a good mastopexy-augmentation, I think you could get significant improvement and would be much happier with the size, shape and symmetry of your breasts and with your areolas.

Some degree of swelling at 8 weeks post lipo and tummy tuck can be totally normal.  Seroma, a collection of serous fluid normally used to lubricate the muscles, is one of the most common complications after a tummy tuck and frequently aspiration can help.  If your surgeon tried to aspirate with no success, that could be for several reasons.  1. It might be swelling in the  tissue rather than a fluid collection/seroma. 2. It might be a very small collection and he wasn't able to locate it with the needle 3. The location above the belly button can be a harder one to drain, since fluid follows gravity and tends to collect at the bottom by the incision more frequently and 4. There may be a seroma cavity or capsule that is no longer very full.  Compression helps and time will tell.  Keep following up with your surgeon until you are happy.  Good luck!

A tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) would also for removal of excess skin and tightening of your abdominal muscles.  Using liposuction in conjunction with the procedure would help to think out your upper abdomen and would help to create a contour more in keeping with the look you are desiring.  Tummy tucks leave long scars, but these are kept low (even lower than a C-section scar) and are able to be hidden by clothing, underwear and bathing suits.  Based on your photos you would be an excellent candidate for a tummy tuck! Good luck!

Liposuction is essentially used to "vacuum" fat deposits and create a better contour.  It does not address skin at all.  The advantage is that is has very small incisions with limited scarring.  In patients with thick, elastic, good quality skin with few stretch marks the likelihood of the skin contracting down with good result is high.  In people who already have loose skin or lots of stretch marks, liposuction can actually make the loose skin look worse, because you are losing volume but keeping the same amount of skin.  Think of this similar to a woman's body after pregnancy - some women are lucky enough to have their stomachs return to completely flat.  Others have loose, redundant skin left on their lower abdomen.  An in person consultation will allow your surgeon to assess your skin quality and give you an idea of how you might be expected to respond to liposuction. Good luck!