13 Weeks After Full Tummy Tuck and my Belly Looks Like Im Pregnant is This Normal? (photo)

Thank you for your question and for providing the photos. There are a variety of causes of fullness after a tummy tuck, and the only way to truly diagnose the problem would be with an actual exam. I would recommend seeing your plastic surgeon immediately to be assessed.

If your belly was initially flat, one of the common causes would be fluid build up after the drains are removed, called a seroma. This is treated relatively easily and can restore the flat belly. Other possibilities include recurrent laxity of the muscles or motility issues of the intestine.

Again, I would recommend seeing your plastic surgeon immediately.

Best of luck with your belly.

Jeff Rockmore

Your story is worrisome as the swelling should not be steadily increasing 13 weeks post op.  I am concerned you have a fluid collection called a seroma.  I recommend being examined by your surgeon to make sure things are okay.

Hello. I would recommend you start exercising your abdominal muscles. After 13 weeks it is safe to start now. What may be the problem is that your muscles aren’t powerful enough to keep your viscera from protruding despite plication of the abdominal muscles.

Jaime Perez, MD
Tummy Tuck Specialist
Plastic Surgery Center of Tampa

I agree that your belly should not be getting more protuberant as time passes.  It is normal for patients abdomens to be slightly full for the first several weeks after surgery as swelling resolves, but then the belly should be flat.  Only a face to face exam could give an accurate assessment as to why your abdomen is swollen, so re check with your plastic surgeon who knows exactly what was done during surgery and knows you best.

Thank you for your post. Seromas can be painful and cause a cosmetic deformity, as well as sometimes leak. The whole point of drains is to keep a seroma from happening in the first place. If a drainless procedure was performed, and you had a seroma, or you had drains that were pulled and you subsequently had a seroma, then you should be drained, otherwise a capsule builds around the fluid making it permanent. If a capsule builds around the seroma (pseudo bursa or encapsulated seroma) then the only way to remove the seroma is to surgically open the areas and excise the capsule, and close over drains to prevent another seroma from happening. If the seroma is encapsulated and is tight and painful, then it can be confused with just swelling or fat. An ultrasound is useful in distinguishing these and identifying the extent of the seroma. If the seroma is not yet encapsulated, then it is usually loose and has a 'fluid wave' or water bed type feel. Occasionally, a seroma can also become infected, especially if a permanent braided suture was used. This will have a hot, red appearance, and will eventually open up. I have never seen an infection from sterile aspiration of fluid.Best wishes,Pablo Prichard, MD