If Several Months After TT, Fat Necrosis in the Upper Abdomen Does Not Improve What Can Be Done to Fix It?

Hello,

Why do you think you have fat necrosis in your upper abdominal area?  The most commona area for fat necrosis following a standard type tummy tuck is in the midline near the horizontal incision at your waist.  This usually presents with redness, wound healing problems, and drainage.  Fat necrosis in the upper abdominal area is very rare.  If you feel like you have excess fullness in this area this may be the result of:

-insufficient liposuction

-insufficient abdominal wall plication

-pseudobursa

The first can be treated with liposucton.  The second and third will require a revision tummy tuck.

All the best,

Dr Repta

Thank you for the question.

I hope you are continuing to follow up with your plastic surgeon  to evaluate the area you're concerned about. If fat necrosis is present there are 2 treatment options. The first is  nonsurgical allowing the tissue to gradually liquefy and demarcate  to what is truly nonviable tissue.  The second option is surgical debridement  of unhealthy/nonviable tissue.

Please keep in mind that this  device is very general in nature and that only in-person examination can determine accurate diagnosis and the best treatment option.

I hope this helps.

You may not actually have fat necrosis.

To answer your question, though, fat necrosis typically does get better on its own, one way or another...but if it's persistent it may have turned into scar tissue.  At that point it can be revised either with surgical removal, or possibly with some lipo to contour the area.

More likely, though, is that it's not fat necrosis.  This entity normally presents with redness and swelling, and fairly quickly proceeds to drainage and an open wound.  It usually heals well although possibly with a deformity of some kind that can be modified to a greater or lesser degree.

Instead, you may have some persistent fat, or skin, or scarring from a hematoma or seroma.  Finally, it may be intra-abdominal.

You should discuss this with your plastic surgeon and, if appropriate, seek additional consults to get an idea of what you have, and what can reasonably be done about it.

I hope that this helps, and good luck,

Dr. E