How to Tell if It's Swelling or Dog Ears After a Tummy Tuck?

With very careful planning and execution, “dog ear" occurrence can be minimized. Occasionally (despite best efforts), after tummy tuck surgery surgery, patients will have excess skin or adipose tissue at the very end of their incision lines. These may be referred to as “dog ears”. "Dog ears"  refer to a bunching up of tissue at the end of a incision line/scar. Physical examination can usually differentiated swelling from “dog years”.Generally dog ears occur  because a surgeon,  in his/her attempt to keep the scar as short as possible,  has a discrepancy between the lengths  of the upper and lower tummy tuck incision lines. They can be avoided by extending the incisions and removing additional skin and subcutaneous tissue. Most patients will much prefer a longer incision line than  the bunching up of tissue and contour elevation, which is visible and palpable with and without clothing.  Often, excision of the dog ear, if it's still a concern roughly one year postoperatively can be corrected easily under local anesthesia.   I hope this helps.

Hello,Thank you for your question. A dog ear is the bulk of tissue (skin and or fat) that remains after a tummy tuck.  It does not always occur, but when it does it has a fairly simple solution: "cut it out".  This can be done after the majority of swelling has gone down (Usually after 3 months).  It can be done under local anesthesia, usually there are no drains after the procedure and most Plastic surgeons will place internal sutures rather than external.  It can be combined with mild liposuction in the area to debulk the surrounding tissue also.Hope this helps,Dr. Dillon 

Yes, it's much too soon to tell if the swollen skin will come down on its own. "Dog-ears" are little bits of extra skin at the ends of an incision. Very frequently, if they are small, they will resolve as your swelling comes down. Most patients will notice that they resolve within the first 3-6 months after surgery. If they do not, this is a small procedure that can be done in the office under local anesthesia. Good luck, /nsn.