Post-Tummy Tuck Belly Button Concerns: My belly button well is getting bigger and deeper? (photo)

Question

I had a full tummy tuck 3 weeks ago in another country so I can't see my surgeon. It seems as though part of the inside of my belly button is receding. The skin is pulling away & the actual opening of my belly button is getting bigger and changing shape. It is still oozing (milky/yellowish discharge, but not smelly: I was told this is normal), and every day it seems like the hole inside is getting a bit deeper. Will it dry out and shrink naturally or should I consult a local surgeon, ASAP? .

Dana Goldberg, MD · Answer

Unfortunately it looks as though your belly button did not have enough blood flow after surgery, and the skin has died. This is not normal after a tummy tuck, but it is one of the known risks of the procedure. This will remain an open wound until the skin heals in from the edges. This could heal completely within a few weeks as long as the wound is free from necrotic (dead) tissue and free from infection. Fortunately the belly button itself is a scar from where your umbilical cord was attached, so a scarred appearance there is not as bad as it would be other places. I highly recommend seeing a board certified plastic surgeon for wound care and possible scar revision in the future if the area doesn't heal as well as you'd like.

Christopher J. Davidson, MD, FACS · Answer

You have some post-op necrosis which happens when there is not enough blood flow.  You will have the difficult task of finding a doctor to complete your care.  This will be important also because you have a stitch to be removed as well.

S. Larry Schlesinger, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your question and your photographs.  Your three photographs at weekly intervals indicate that your belly button (umbilical stalk) appears to be necrosing.  The umbilicus or belly button has two blood supplies in the adult - one from the skin surrounding it and one from the liver which is how your mother fed you when you were inside her.  In separating the belly button from the skin, the surgeon decreases the blood supply to the belly button by 50%.  If you had an umbilical hernia repair or some belly button surgery in the past and the previous surgeon inadvertently injured your blood supply to the belly button from the liver, then cutting the belly button free from the skin can lead to necrosis or death of the belly button.  Of course, surgical accidents do occur, so your plastic surgeon may have injured the blood supply from the liver to the belly button, and this also could lead to your present state of necrosis.Your pictures show no sign of infection and your comment about not having any smell to your discharge would indicate that you are not infected at this time.  This is the right time to seek consultation from a local Board Certified plastic surgeon.  I would discuss your situation with him or her and follow their advice to the "T".  If you were my patient, I would have you treat the existing umbilical hole with betadine ointment which, in my experience, keeps the bacterial count down and at the same time increases the chance of epithelialization.  Prior to that, I would of course get a culture to be sure no pathogenic bacteria are present.  The good news is that the skin will heal ultimately, and the resultant hole very often looks like a belly button.  The reason to see a plastic surgeon ASAP is to treat any possible bacteria present since this bacteria can travel down the umbilical stalk leading to an inter-abdominal very serious complication.

Frederic H. Corbin, MD (license restricted) · Answer

Thank you for sending the photos and absolutely I would see a local Plastic Surgeon to get this adequately treated.  It appears the umbilcal area has separated or the umbilcus lost blood supply following the abdominoplasty.  either way this should be seen by a Plastic surgeon.  I am sorry you have had this complication but do not delay in getting it treated.

Post-Tummy Tuck Belly Button Concerns: My belly button well is getting bigger and deeper? (photo)

Answers (4)

Answer: Enlarging Belly button

Answer: Enlarging Belly button

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Everything you need to know about Tummy Tuck

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Post-Tummy Tuck Belly Button Concerns: My belly button well is getting bigger and deeper? (photo)

Answers (4)

Answer: Enlarging Belly button

Answer: Enlarging Belly button

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Tummy Tuck

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.