Does a tummy tuck require a fake belly button?

A tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) does not 'make' a fake belly button.  To remove the excess skin and incision is made completely around your own belly button .  The excess skin is then pulled down and removed.  A new 'hole' is cut to suture the original belly button in .  Therefore, the belly button is not fake....it is yours with a scar around it.

It very seldom does. Typically, the belly button is simply moved to a newer location after the excess skin and tissue from your lower abdomen is removed. Consult a Board Certified plastic surgeon to see what your situation will be. Best wishes and kind regards,

Hello and thank you for your question. This is a good question because there are a decent number of patients that have this impression...that the belly button after tummy tuck is somehow "fake." This NOT the case. The belly button actually travels from the skin of the abdomen, down through the underlying fat and all the way down to the abdominal wall. The tube that helps form your belly button, that is connected to the abdominal wall is called the "stalk." The belly button if fixed, meaning that for the most part it cannot really be moved unless you sever the stalk completely.

I obviously don't know how your friend's tummy tuck was done and don't know what her belly button looks like so it is hard for me to tell what about the belly button looks "fake." Typically, people don't like when the belly button loses its depth, if it is too big and if the incision is very apparent. I tend to like to make the belly button on the smaller side, more vertical and oval and try and keep the incision on the inside so it is difficult to see. Ankur Mehta MD

Mothers of Multiples (MoMs) often require a different approach to tummy tucks, but usually the standard technique where the existing belly button is used works well. With a full tummy tuck, the skin of the upper abdomen is stretched down to cover the area below the belly button where skin was removed. The existing belly button is then bought out through a new opening but it is the same belly button. A mini tummy tuck does not involve a scar around the belly button but is unlikely to give a good result in MoMs.

If you have extensive loose skin, as you mentioned, then you would need a full tummy tuck, which does involve repositioning the belly button. The belly button skin (in the depths of your current belly button) will still be the same belly button skin that is present afterwards, except that it will be sewn into skin from higher on your abdomen that has been pulled down as part of the tummy tuck. That means that there WILL be a scar around the belly button, which may be noticeable in some patients, and almost invisible in others. In most patients (unless they are extremely thin with no fat on their abdominal skin), there is enough depth of the abdominal skin to create a belly button that is deep (not flat), with the scars below the surface, where they're less visible. You as the patient can also tell your plastic surgeon what type of belly button you'd like, if you have specific preferences. The surgeon could then try to give you the appearance you want, although the appearance cannot be guaranteed, nor can the quality of the scarring. For example, you could express your preference for a larger belly button or a smaller one, or for one that is rounder or one that is more vertically elongated. Your surgeon can try to achieve those goals for you, but things may not heal exactly as planned. Above all, please keep in mind that almost all tummy tuck patients are extremely happy that they had the surgery, whether their belly button is beautiful or not. Even if your belly button does end up looking slightly "odd," it's a small price to pay for the tremendous improvement in how you look and feel (and it may not look odd at all!).