Where should the belly button be located?

Question

I can't get a straight answer and I find it exceedingly annoying that the standard answer is, - where it was pre surgery. My question is "where should the belly button be located?" What are the standard measurements one would use to determine where to put a belly button? Are there standard measurements. Do you just 'eyeball" it? Also, no, not all surgeons will make you a belly button just cuz. They charge you separate for that.

Alexander Zuriarrain, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello and thank you for your question.
The reason that you cannot get a straight answer in regards to where the location of the umbilicus is after an abdominoplasty, is that it truly depends on each individual patient. Essentially, the belly button should be located exactly where it was before performing the abdominoplasty. 
This tends to be at an area that is located along a transverse line drawn from each anterior superior iliac spine (hips). That is where the majority of patient's belly buttons are located anatomically. There is no specific guideline in terms of measurements of where the belly button should lie because every single human being is unique and every patient's body is different and no single measurement will be able to give you the proper anatomic location of the umbilicus.  
Hope this helps answer question. All the best!
Alex Zuriarrain, MD, Plastic Surgery

Francesco Campanile, MD · Answer

Typically, the natural belly button is centered to align vertically with the middle of your breastbone, and the horizontal center should be even with the high points of your hips. Because everyone's anatomy is different, there's no set measurement that works for every patient when a surgeon determines the new placement for the belly button after a tummy tuck. Hope this helps!

Thomas Trey Sands, MD · Answer

This is an accurate answer. That's why you keep hearin the same thing. Maybe your question is where is the belly button located in relation to the scar. During the procedure, the original belly button is left attached to the abdominal wall so it never moves in frelarion to the midline or the hip bones. When closing the incision and picking the new opening for the belly button, the existing belly button location is translocated onto the skin with a mark. This mark is confirmed by running a line from the middle of the sternum to the top of the vagina. Careful attention is made to make sure that there is at least 12 cm from the top of the vagina to the belly button location. Because the belly button is still attached on a stalk, it can only be move up and down by about 2 cm. The most important measurement is to make sure that it is in the midline. Some people have a naturally high riding belly button and some people's are lower. I hope this helps.

Richard Cashio, MD · Answer

This is a great question. However, the answer is dependent upon the type of abdominoplasty the surgeon performs. The normal anatomical position of the umbilicus (belly button) is even with the top of the iliac crests (the hip bone). With a traditional abdominoplasty the belly button should remain in this location. However, if the surgeon performs a "floating umbilical" abdominoplasty, the belly button will be lower than it was prior to surgery. This type of surgery is performed by first releasing the belly button from the abdominal wall. As the skin is pulled down tight, the belly button travels along resulting in a lower position. A surgeon may recommend this option if there isn't enough skin to adequately perform a traditional tummy tuck.

Where should the belly button be located?

Answers (4)

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