Have I Compromised my Muscle Repair?

Generally scar tissue is well formed by 5 weeks after surgery and it is not likely that you compromised your muscle repair.
It is important to maintain the results of your repair by performing core strenghtening exercises which will enhance the results of your repair. Pilates or Yoga is excellent in this regard.
Performing aggressive traditional stomach exercises like crunches and affect your result producing a bulging stomach muscle.
Notify your surgeon and keep an eye on your belly but don't be overly concerned.

If you disrupt the plication or repair, you will know it! "Popping" sensations do opccur after exertion, sneezing, laughing, etc. The muscles continue to contract around the plication (repair) sutures and cancreate that sensation.
If you truly disrupt the repair, you will feel a significant tearing and often see a bulge in the area....you will know it! If there is ever concern about it, contact you surgeon immediately.

Hello PollyPocket,

It's understandable to have concerns about the integrity of your muscle repair after hearing what sounded like a stitch pop above your belly button. However, it's unlikely that you've compromised the muscle repair.

During a tummy tuck with muscle repair, surgeons typically use multiple layers of permanent sutures to secure the abdominal muscles. Even if a portion of the repair were to pop, there are usually several stitches in place to provide stability and support.

The tight sensation you're feeling under the skin is normal at this stage of recovery and is often attributed to the healing process. It's essential to continue following your surgeon's post-operative instructions and avoid strenuous activities that could potentially strain the muscle repair.

While it's always best to err on the side of caution and contact your surgeon if you have any concerns, it's reassuring to know that the likelihood of compromising the muscle repair from activities like normal bowel movements or sneezing is minimal.

I hope this eases your worries, and I wish you a smooth and successful recovery from your tummy tuck procedure.

Sincerely, Dr. Katzen

It’s
unlikely that you’ve compromised your muscle repair after straining and
sneezing five weeks following surgery. At this point the wound should have
regained most of its tensile strength. For this reason, disruption of the
muscle repair sutures might not lead to a recurrent diastasis.This
assessment requires a physical examination. In most cases disruption of the
abdominal plication would be accompanied by a bulge. In addition, most patients
would also have swelling and localized pain in the area.The
type of closure is also important. In some cases surgeons utilize interrupted
suture, while in other cases they use continuous sutures. Disruption of a
continuous suture has much more significance than disruption of a few
interrupted sutures.If
you’re worried about dehiscence of your abdominal muscle plication,
consultation with your plastic surgeon is appropriate. Your surgeon should be
able to answer your questions and alleviate your anxiety.

It is possible for a stich to break 5 weeks after a tummy tuck especially if it is not permanent.  However, at 5 weeks, the body has pretty securely fixed the repair with collagen.   It is not our of the question that a repair could be disrupted but it would be most uncommon.  I can't imagine that sneezing or straining in the bathroom could do this.

A big part of a routine abdominoplasty is the midline tightening of abdominal muscles. Many surgeons use a woven suture that allows ingrowth of tissue into the suture to maximize the strength of the repair. However, this takes several months and may be compromised by strenuous activity.
Avoid stomach crunches, sit ups, lifting heavy weights. Further, previous abdominal surgery may place you at greater risk for disrupting the muscle sutures.

Abdominoplasty involves "plicating" the rectus muscles with suture and is a regular part of the procedure as performed in my San Francisco area practice.
This repair is typically most vulnerable at week 2 after your surgery. This is because the normal healing process can actually make the tissues the suture passes through more weak for a period as scar tissue deposits. People are also generally feeling better and becoming more active at this point.
Most surgeons would not choose a suture that would dissolve as quickly as 5 weeks so the sensations you felt were probably not that.
If you haven't noticed a difference in profile you probably have not compromised the repair. (Though it is possible a suture has ruptured).
As always - because the surgeon that performed your surgery understands better than any of us what was done - it is important to follow-up with your doctor if you have post-op questions.
I hope this helps!

Most surgeons perform "muscle tightening" during tummy tuck procedures - some use absorbable sutures whereas others use permanent sutures. In most cases, the repair is almost "bomb-proof" - enough to withstand sneezing, coughing, movement, etc. You may have broken an absorbable suture, pulled a little fascia (which is your abdominal wall covering)... or something completely unrelated.
It is very unlikely the you have created a problem. Rest easy and recover according to your instructions to date.
Hope this puts you at ease.
Dr. Kaufman

Hi there-
I think it's doubtful you disrupted your repair, as most often this would have been accompanied by significant pain. I would, however see your surgeon for an evaluation.

It is unlikely that those two events would lead to breaking a stitch. If the muscle repair did break you would likely notice a bulge in the area. It would be helpful to know whether or not your muscle repair was performed with interrupted sutures or if one continuous suture was used to close the repair. If one continuous suture was used abdominal stress normally stretched but not breaks the suture. Individual sutures however have a slightly greater chance of breaking. It would be best to discuss this with your surgeon that he or she could give you an accurate assessment.For a simple and illustrated explanation of tummy tuck and body contouring
procedures, watch my video.