Will Flared Ribs Interfere with How a Diastasis Recti Repair Will Hold Up?

Great question. Your flared ribs will always be flared. That doesn't mean you can't have a tummy tuck that can achieve your goals of a flat tight abdomen. Educate yourself a little more with an in person consultation! 

Best of luck,

Dr Shifrin

Thank you for your question. Flared ribs can have some effect on the degree of repair that can be achieved, but it is unlikely to affect recurrence.  With a two layered repair it is uncommon to have recurrence.  Weight gain and repeat pregnancy are the most common causes of recurrence of diastasis recti.  Given your height, weight and diastasis, you should be an excellent candidate for a tummy tuck.   All the best.

usually holds up well unless sutures fail, tissue fails to hold the suture, or you gain a lot of weight afterwards.  Flared ribs will not affect the repair but it could influence your final contours.

Flared ribs may have some effect on your result but it is not something that can be corrected.  It will have not effect on the repair of your anterior abdominal wall or correction your diastasis recti. 

If you carried high it is very common for the lower ribcage to flare after pregnancy. Ordinarily this will not interfere withthe diastasis repair, however we are careful to get fully up to the xyphoid (the notch in the middle) to avoid a bulge in the upper abdomen. The diastasis repair will hold up if repaired well, and we prefer a double row of permanent sutures to make sure.

If the flared ribs were present before the pregnancy, and your abdomen was flat, I don't see any reason why the repair should hold up.  If the flaring is new and occurred with the pregnancy, I don't really know if that would increase the risk of failure, but I suspect not.

When you are ready for an in person consultation,RealSelf has listings of surgeons in your area. You should consider cross referencing the listings from the The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (plasticsurgery dot org). A listing in the ASPS website assures you that your surgeon is not only board certified,  but also is a member in good standing of the major plastic surgery organization in the U. S. Thank you for your question, best wishes.

It is quite common for the lower rib flare to increase in small women after a pregnancy. I am unfamiliar with recurrence of a diastasis recti after having it repaired unless there was another pregnancy or significant weight gain, or unless the repair was done with dissolving sutures and even then it normally would hold up if the heavier sutures were used.