Was my tummy tuck botched? (photo)

I think aside from that muscle separation that you see, you have an excellent tummy tuck result.  I would show these photos to your surgeon and discuss a revision with muscle repair all the way up.  Good luck.

It appears that there is a slight separation of your muscles which is causing that dent. It is slightly visible in the before pic. I wouldn't say that your tummy tuck was botched, as your results look great. You no longer have the large amount of excess skin and fat surrounding your belly button and hanging below it. Further surgery can correct this issue, however please consider the risks involved.

      If you did not have the separation of your abdominal muscles before surgery (I cannot tell from the preoperative picture), then there would have been no reason for your plastic surgeon to plicate the rectus fascia as the goal is to obtain anatomic norm, which you said you had.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

You have a very nice tummy tuck result.  You procedure is by no means a botched job.  Discuss your concerns further with your surgeon regarding the plication.

Unlike your surgeon I routinely repair and bring together the two rectus abdominal muscles from the very top to the bottom. This not only re-estabilshes the integrity of the abdominal wall but also avoid seeing the separation of the abdominal muslces in the upper abdomen. Unfortunately, the upper abdominal bulg can get worse with time and exercises, unless it is corrected.

Your tummy tuck result is very good, however you are right in that there is some separation of the muscles above the belly button which has become visible as you strengthen the abdomen. The fix is not a simple one as the muscle would need repair up to the chest.

Hi,

your result is good. It's not perfect, but NO ONE is perfect. We need to keep in mind realistic and reasonable goals. Comparing your before pic and your after pic looks like two completely different people. 

 

It may benefit from retightening of the muscles, but frankly, it's not worth the risks involved. 

Bennett Yang, MD

washington dc

 

Your issue is one of realistic expectation. The result is acceptable as compared to your before posted photo. Anymore surgery would be a large risk. 

The dent to which you refer is the separation of the upper rectus muscles which creates a valley between them. They can be improved by suturing them together but whether that is worth it as this point is doubtful. As you mentioned in your inquiry the muscles were not plicated this high and I am sure your surgeon had a good reason for not doing so. The muscle plication may be incomplete but your result is certainly not a 'botched' tummy tuck. This is a discussion that you need to have with your surgeon 

Thank you for the question and pictures.

 Based on your description of events  and your pictures, I think that the “dent” that you see is related to residual “spreading” of the abdominal wall muscles along your upper abdominal wall (diastasis).  Correction would involve suture “repair” of this separation.

 I would suggest that you communicate your concerns in a calm/constructive fashion with your surgeon.  Ultimately, you'll need to weigh the concerns you have with the appearance of your abdominal wall against the pros/cons associated with additional surgery.

 Best wishes.