I'm post 18 days tummy tuck. Do I need to keep my new belly button covered, or let the air get to it and just clean it?

You should check with your plastic surgeon, but in my practice I recommend applying bacitracin ointment to the belly button scar for a few weeks after tummy tuck surgery.  I like keeping the wound moist and in theory this should help create a nicer scar.  Aesthetically, I think the belly button is the most important part of the tummy tuck, so I do all I can to protect it.

Please check with your plastic surgeon as every doctor has a different postop protocol.  Usually if the wound is closed and there is no drainage, the belly button can be left out to the open air.

Better to ask your surgeon about this.For most patients at this stage, a dressing is needed mainly to avoid staining clothes with drainage. If there is none, leaving the navel open makes sense.All the best.