How long before I can feel again after skin only abdominoplasty?

Hello mamainkc,

I understand your concerns following your skin-only abdominoplasty in June 2022. It seems you're facing several issues, such as changes in skin appearance, a loss of sensation, and dissatisfaction with the appearance of your belly button.

The recovery of sensation in the abdominal skin after an abdominoplasty varies from person to person. While some patients regain normal or near-normal sensation within a few months, others might take a year or more. In rare cases, some areas may remain permanently numb due to the disruption of small sensory nerves during the surgery. This prolonged loss of sensation, although uncommon, is a recognized complication of the procedure.

Regarding the appearance of your skin and the development of new stretch marks post-surgery, this could be attributed to the unique ways in which individual skin adapts and heals. Everyone's skin responds differently to the tension and healing processes, leading to varied outcomes, including unexpected stretch marks.

Your concern about not seeing muscle structure despite maintaining a healthy lifestyle and regular workouts can be influenced by several factors. The thickness of the subcutaneous tissue and the natural configuration of your muscles and connective tissue play a significant role. It's essential to have realistic expectations about the visibility of muscle structure, as it may not be prominently visible for everyone, even with an active lifestyle.

The appearance of the belly button post-abdominoplasty is often a concern for many patients. Achieving a natural-looking belly button can be challenging, and variations in healing can lead to outcomes that might not align with patient expectations.

Given the variety of issues you are experiencing, I recommend you have a follow-up consultation with your plastic surgeon. It's crucial to discuss these concerns openly and consider any revision options that might be available, especially for the belly button. Seeking a second opinion from another board-certified plastic surgeon can also provide new insights and potential solutions.

Healing both physically and emotionally after surgery takes time and patience. It's important to communicate your feelings and concerns with your surgical team to ensure the best possible outcome.

Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

The time it takes to regain sensation after a skin-only abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) can vary from person to person. Generally, you may experience numbness and reduced sensation in the treated area for several weeks to a few months. Sensation typically returns gradually during the healing process. However, it’s important to note that full sensation may not always return to the same level as before the surgery, and some individuals may experience permanent changes in sensation. It’s essential to follow your surgeon’s post-operative instructions and have regular follow-up appointments to monitor your healing progress. If you have concerns about sensation after the procedure, it’s best to discuss them with your surgeon.

Sensation should slowly return over the next few months except in the mid lower abdomen. Those sensory nerves have been cut and you will remain numb below your belly button. Since you did not show photos, I cannot comment about anything thing else.

I'm sorry you are unhappy with your tummy tuck results. Change in sensation is common after surgery and can take up to a year to resolve. If numbness is present after a year, the change is likely permanent. I encourage you to discuss your concerns with your surgeon. If you are not confident with your surgeon, you can visit another board certified plastic surgeon near you for a second opinion.

To make an assessment regarding the outcome of a plastic surgery procedure we generally need to see a complete set of before and after pictures. If you don’t have before, and after pictures and ask your surgeon to forward the pictures they took.
The skin of the lower abdomen, especially below. The belly button usually is permanently numb after this procedure. Some sensation will come back over the next couple of years but most patient still have some permanent loss of sensation. Most people eventually get used to this.
A natural looking belly button is the hallmark of a quality tummy tuck. This is a very low, set scar that follows an atomic contours naturally are with patients should be looking for it when vetting plastic surgeons for this procedure.
I recognize you’ve already had the procedure, but for those who have not, I recommend that the time to be critical of plastic surgeons is during the vetting process while having consultations. I recommend all patients have multiple in person, consultations before scheduling, permanent to reversible body contouring procedures. During each consultation, ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before and after pictures of previous patient with similar body characteristics to your owner. An experienced provider should have no difficulty showing you the before and after pictures of at least 50 previous patients. Being shown a handful of pre-selected images, representing the best results of the providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of an average results look like in the hands of each provider.
Quality work is represented by getting natural looking belly buttons with a scar that follows anatomic contours. Is set low and leaves the torso looking balanced attractive, and proportion it from all angles, including from behind.
Being board-certified in plastic surgery with years of experience in an overall good reputation, does not mean somebody has mastered anyone single procedure.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD