What is this little bulge, bubble that’s sitting above my belly button? (Photo)

Hello anonymous510,
Thank you for your question regarding the bulge above your belly button.

In examining your pictures, the bulge above your belly button appears to be residual or left-over fat. You could have an ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI to confirm what this mass is. However, it certainly appears to be residual fat. This could be original fat that was missed during your liposuction surgery or an accumulation of new fat. Whatever the cause, the treatment should be the removal of this excess fat above your belly button. This can be accomplished with liposuction.

It is not uncommon for belly button fat to be missed during liposuction of the abdominal wall. If it bothers you, I would consider revision belly button liposuction to eliminate the fat above your belly button.

Good luck. I hope I’ve answered your question regarding the bulge above your belly button.

Sincerely,

J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FASMBS, FICS

Although it is hard to tell for sure without examining you, it looks like there is a small area of residual fat in that area above your belly button. This can be addressed by having repeat liposuction, and since it is a small area it is feasible to safely perform this surgery awake under local anesthesia. Hope this helps!

Although it is impossible to diagnose your issue by photos without a physical examination, the list of possibilities is short. The most likely is that it is a skin wave. Skin waves occur after liposuction when the normal anchoring system of subcutaneous fascia has been ruptured or attenuated. This anchoring system is a series of fibers perpendicular to the skin surface that hold skin down to its underlying deep tissues (the deep fascia that envelopes muscles). When they rupture or elongate, skin slides downwards until is catches something to hold onto, which causes a 'pile up'. In your case, your belly button, which is the ultimate anchor of your abdominal skin. For someone who is young and doesn't already have inframammary scars from a breast lift, and therefore an unlikely candidate for a reverse abdominoplasty, I would recommend revision HD liposuction with Renuvion, a radiofrequency/helium plasma device designed to heat tissues. The logic behind this recommendation lies in re-creating space under the skin (the revision liposuction), unweighting/debulking the subcutaneous tissue (liposuction), followed by the thermal tightening of these fascial anchors (Renuvion). This recommendation comes with a cautionary note: you want a real expert in revision body contouring to minimize the possibility of having new problems. To be clear though, the most straightforward way of fixing this problem with certainty is a reverse abdominoplasty. The scar is mostly hidden under each breast, with the exception of the scar traversing the intermammary gap at the bottom of your sternum.

This is excess fat that can be liposucted under local anesthesia and would take about 10 minutes to correct.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

An examination is needed to be certain, but it appears to be some excess skin. You might consider Renuvion treatment for tightening.

An exam is needed to know for sure but the little bulge is likely from skin laxity. After your liposuction this area no longer had the fat to support and is resulting in this contour. You may be a candidate for BodyTite or Morpheus8 to help improve the laxity. See a provider near you to learn more.

Your pictures are not sufficient to make a quality assessment.
Try, including a complete set of proper before and after pictures.
If you don’t have a complete set of proper before, and after pictures, then ask your surgeon to forward the pictures they took.
It looks like you have a “sad belly button” which often comes From having some skin laxity or loss of skin elasticity.
Skin elasticity varies substantially from person to person. It has a fairly strong, genetic component.
If somebody has a predisposition to having a “sad belly button”, then Liposuction is likely to make this worse.
If the problem is corrected by lifting on the skin than that indicates it is a laxity or elasticity problem.
There is no correcting this.
It is your anatomy combined with the outcome of having fat removed.
When I consult with individuals who have a potential “sad belly button” , I usually let them know that removing fat may cause this to worsen a bit.
Most people are OK with it as long as they’re told in advance.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD