Repairing of umbilical hernia after abdominoplasty. Would it affect the cosmetic side of my tummy tuck?

You ask a very good question. The way general surgeons fix hernias is different than how a board certified plastic surgeon will do it.The general surgeon will make a semi-circular cut around your belly button to reduce and repair the hernia. He may even do a vertical incision. You must realize that general surgeons are not concerned with the aesthetic result of a procedure typically. They re concerned with fixing the problem. This means they may give extra cuts on your abdomen, typically in the midline.Now the way a plastic surgeon would fix the hernia is entirely different. As a plastic surgeon I would make a cut where your old tummy tuck scar is and I would raise the skin up and above the level of your umbilical hernia. I would reduce and fix your hernia. Then I would evaluate your muscles of the abdominal and re-tighten them if need be. Finally I would revise your old tummy tuck scar to make it thinner if there is a need. Usually tummy tuck scars will stretch over time and after sometime they can be revised. This is the better way.

This depends on what needs to be done for the umbilical hernia. If the umbilical hernia is small and incision can be made around your prior belly button scar and carried down to the repair. The hernia is isolated and several permanent sutures are placed to repair the whole or hernia of the abdominal wall. If your umbilical hernia is large this may require a larger incision. If it requires a larger incision, I would suggest going through the abdominoplasty scar. By going through the abdominoplasty scar, the hernia can be reached and repaired even if it’s a relatively large hernia it can be repaired from the abdominoplasty scar. With either approach the esthetic results of your abdominoplasty should be preserved. The repair of the umbilical hernia should not affect the cosmetic result obtained from the abdominoplasty.

This is an interesting scenario.It would be great if the general surgeon and plastic surgeon could communicate about this. At the least, you need for the general surgeon to use the scars that the plastic surgeon created. That would preserve your cosmetic result and even improve it with a better belly button appearance with hernia repair.Good luck!