How Deep Should Your Belly Button Be After a TT?

Do not hate your plastic surgeon. This appears somewhat normal and is a common occurence. I would discuss wound care of the belly button with your plastic surgeon.
First off, please stop sticking your finger in your belly button. That is not helping. The depth of the belly button depends partially on the thickness of the abdominal skin and fat layer (pannus).
However, the belly button has a tendency for poor healing which can be attributed to the fact that it is a scar. It is the clamping off of your umbilical cord that causes the scar tissue to die and retract to become the belly button. It has a marginal blood supply and therefore has a high likelihood of poor wound healing.

Thanks for the photo. There is no standard depth of a belly button. Plastic surgeons try tirelessly to create a pleasing belly button. I will say that ideally the belly button should have good depth and a bit of hooding at the top.
Concerning your belly button patience is the key. The incisions need time to heal and the tissue needs time to soften and reshape. You should start to see you new shape within 6 weeks and your shape (i.e. tissues softened) should finalize in 6 months. incisions will change and eventually fade over the 6-12 months.
IT'S VERY EARLY IN YOUR JOURNEY! Continue to follow the advice of your plastic surgeon.

Poor healing around you belly button (umbilicus) is not uncommon. There can be some slow healing or even early separation of the edges of skin. Ultimately, will all heal. It can be scary when you see it happening on your body. As other doctors have explained, touching and poking at your belly button while its healing is not a good idea and can lead to more serious issues like infections. You have the hardest job now, you need to be patient. It can take a few weeks, but the belly button will heal. Keep it clean, dry (washing is OK), and try not to touch it. Continue to see your plastic surgeon, who I know wants the very best for you and your results.
I hope this info helps!

The two problem areas after a tummy tuck can be the center of the incision and the belly button. The length of the belly button is determined by the original length and the thickness of the abdominal skin flap. Your belly button has the appearance of chemical irritation, like you've been using peroxide on it. Whatever you're using, stop. It may also have a fungal infection so have your surgeon check it out.

it is impossible to tell from this close up just how deep the belly button should be. It is obvious you appear to have swelling and a wound separation along the top (11 to 2 and from 4 to 8 o clock). These areas will heal with dressing changes to the point you may not be able to tell they were separated BUT you should NEVER probe the depth of the belly button by sticking a finger in it as it will disrupt the stitching.
I would calmly discuss this with your Plastic surgeon and see what he / she suggests and how he / she thinks this will heal.
Dr. P. Aldea

You have wound healing problems due to inadequate blood supply. Don't hate the ps, complications occur. Stop putting your finger in it.
My guess is that in several weeks to months it will heal well. As swelling goes down over months, it will look better.

The final appearance of the BB depends on what it looks like before, the surgery that is performed, and how you heal.  In your case, you have some delayed healing in the region of the BB, and until you're fully healed, you really can't tell or even try to assess what it will look like.  First things first - and in your case, you need to get this healed.  Of course, it is not that uncommon to have areas of delayed healing after a procedure such as this (unpleasant - certainly; uncommon - not necessarily).  Rather than hate your PS you need to be working WITH him or her to make sure that your BB heals adequately.  It looks like it will (hard to tell from a photo) but only after that can you reasonably address some of the appearance issues you've raised.  General wound care should be enough - dressing changes, ointment as needed, etc and then once it's healed if you're not comfortable with its appearance you can talk to your PS about a revision.   But it's much better for all involved - but mostly for you - if you can maintain a good working relationship with your PS.  That's the best way to get to the result you were hoping for in the first place.

I hope that this helps, and good luck,

Dr. E

 

You need to be less anxious about the belly button and you may even be hurting it by pulling it apart and probing it with your finger.  Why would you "hate" your doctor when you may be entirely to blame for a complication here???