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Swollen and sore tight abdominal muscles after diastasis recti surgery

tficklinFeb 20, 2018
I’m Almost 4wkpo and I had A tummy tuck and Diastasis recti surgery. The right side of my belly button feels extremely tight and swollen the last couple of days. Is this normal and part of the recovery or should I be Worried?

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Dr. Daniel Barrett, MD
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Dr. Daniel Barrett, MD
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Answered on Feb 27, 2018
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Dr. Stephen M. Davis, MD, FACS
Dr. Stephen M. Davis, MD, FACS
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Answered on Nov 28, 2018
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Bradley A. Hubbard, MD

Hi there.  Diastasis recti will not heal by itself.  Unfortunately no amount of working out will fix the issue. It would require surgery to repair those muscles. Best of luck to you!

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Sean Satey, MD, FACS

The short answer is- you're wasting your time. The gold standard to correcting a diastasis recti is a muscle plication. This is performed with permanent sutures, and corrected with a minimum of two layers in my practice. The results are immediate, and permanent. Best, Dr. Satey.

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Daniel Barrett, MD

Dear elphers123,I understand your concern. However, without a proper assessment it would be difficult to determine what is wrong.  In case of ventral hernia you will have a defect of abdominal wall which will allow underlying structures to protrude through that defect. CT scan should be able t...

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Francis X. Fleming, MD

For insurance to cover a surgical problem it must be a functional one. In your case, you may have diastasis recti, but your symptoms are due to intra-abdominal weight gain, which will not be changed by tightening you rectus muscles. If you were able to loose the weight that you have gained, then...

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Clayton Crantford, MD

Thank you for your question Lee Sertich. Diastasis recti is a very common condition that women encounter post pregnancy or as the age. Depending on the severity of the muscle separation a tummy tuck (mini/full) may be the best option for you. Small separations may be improved with physical...

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