Tummy Tuck Gone Wrong? (photo)

Several conditions could explain
your post-operative findings.These
include weight gain, residual subcutaneous fat, residual intra-abdominal fat,
muscle repair dehiscence, chronic seroma formation and residual swelling.Unfortunately, without pre-operative pictures
or a physical examination it’s almost impossible to differentiate these
conditions. Even
after five months residual swelling can still be a significant problem for
post-operative abdominoplasty patients.It’s not unusual for patients to complain of fullness and swelling for several
months following abdominoplasty. The wound healing process following this
procedure lasts for over a year.Most of
the swelling resolves in six to eight weeks, but small amount of swelling may
persist for up of a year.Patients
can minimize swelling with compression garments, massage and limitations on
activity levels.It’s important to
remember that swelling is a normal part of wound healing and should resolve
with time. It
important that you maintain close contact with your plastic surgeon until this
situation resolves.If you’re not happy
with his care, a second opinion is reasonable

   If there is a concern that someone looks the same before and after surgery, preop and postop photos may give some insight into this evaluation.

Without seeing your before pictures and knowing more about the surgery you had performed, it is difficult to give you specific advice.  By 5 months later, 99% of your swelling should be resolved.

 

Good luck.

Thanks for the photos. I think a second opinion is important and should be done with a board certified plastic surgeon. You should bring the report of operation and any other medical records the new surgeon requests. This will be helpful to the surgeon and, importantly, they can review with you what exactly was done during your surgery.

It is hard to render an opinion with only post-op photos. From the looks of the photos, there is probably a lot of intraabdominal excess fat, and that is not accessible to the plastic surgeon--only weight loss can resolve that. 

The skin contour looks OK, and the navel scar looks if anything better than average. Please consider adding some pre-surgery photos, and a better online evalutation will be possible.

By five months, most or all swelling is likely gone. 

Thanks, best wishes.

Pre operative photographs would be very helpful here. Your result looks good. You may require some lipo at a later time

Most of your swelling should be gone by 5 months.  You have included only your post op photographs, seeing your pre-operative photos would be very helpful.  Some times an abdominplasty must be staged, in other words, you may need more aggressive liposuctioning of the trunk and then some secondary tightening of the skin.   It is just hard to say without seeing what you looked like prior to surgery.  Your plastic surgeon is in the best position to know what needs to be done to take you to a level of satisfaction with your surgery.   It is our task to guide our patients through the procedure and let give them reasonable expectations.  At the end of the day we want our patients to be able to look in the mirror and say I got what I thought I was going to get.   I hope you find yourself in that position.  

Based on the very limited information and photos I recommend a 20 pound aggressive weight loss. Than see how you appear. 

There can be many causes for persistant lower abdominal fullness after tummy tuck, as swelling should be clear by five months. A second consultation might help you sort things out.

I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment after tummy tucks surgery. 2 pieces of "information” will be very valuable then evaluating your situation:  your preoperative photographs as well as your current  physical examination should provide enough information as to figure out “what is going on” and what can be done to improve your situation.

 For your own peace of mind, it sounds like you may benefit from in-person consultation with other Board certified plastic surgeons as well.

 Best wishes.