I recently got a laparotomy in Nov of 2024. Am I a candidate for a tummy tuck? Would the scar be taken away? (photo)

Dear watermelon6913,

6 months should be enough to fully recover. A tummy tuck will not remove your scar completely. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination, you will get more information and recommendations.

Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Not sure if you need a tummy tuck or liposuction with a scar revision. As you know scars are permanent unless you could remove all the skin up to the top of the scar. That's not possible.
So if you did a tummy tuck you would still have that vertical scar and only a certain amount of the lower scar would be removed as the abdominal flaps is pulled down and the excess removed.
There is also increased risk of skin necrosis at the lower midline where the vertical scar meets the abdominoplasty transverse incision. This is because the scar cuts off some circulation.
An option would be to do liposuction to get a thinner skin contour. There would likely be some skin laxity that could be put to use by removing the old scar and bring the sides together.
A year later when all healed, a limited undermining tummy tuck could be done, and some rectus plication to improve abdominal wall laxity.
Midline scars on the abdomen tend to heal with hypertrophy; revising them recreates the original scar. However, in the revision, the suture or staple marks can be removed. If sutures are left over seven days they will leave scars. So the incision closure should be engineered with deep layer support so that superficial skin sutures can be removed in seven days, or a subcuticular pull out suture should be used.

Thank you for your question. You might be a candidate for a tummy tuck after a laparotomy, but the final decision depends on an in-person consultation to assess your healing progress, overall health, and the location of the laparotomy scar. Regarding whether the scar can be removed, the scar below the belly button can be removed, while the scar above may remain but can flatten or shift with the skin tightening. Your surgeon can assess your scar location and abdominal wall in person to determine if you're a good candidate and whether your scar can be excised during surgery.