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

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.