Lower belly protruding after tummy tuck — Is this my final result? (photo)

Thanks for your question!
Swelling after having a tummy tuck can last for up to a year. Give it some time. If you have any concerns or questions reach out to your surgeon for guidance. Best wishes!

Thank you for sharing your history and picture post-tummy tuck and Lipo 360. A few critical aspects come to mind regarding your lower belly protrusion.
Muscle Repair: The key concern is whether the rectus abdominis muscles were adequately sutured and if any rectus diastasis was corrected. It's essential to know if the region from your bellybutton to the pubic area was addressed. The protrusion you're seeing might result from weakened or inadequately repaired muscles.
Healing Time: At six months post-operation, there could still be residual swelling or changes occurring. Strengthening your core through exercises like planks and Pilates could help, but if after 12 months you still notice the protrusion, considering a surgical revision might be an option.
Internal Factors: It's also possible that the bulge isn't just about the surgery. Conditions like uterine fibroids can cause similar appearances. It might be worth consulting with an OB/GYN and considering an ultrasound to rule out any internal factors.
Lastly, continuous communication with your plastic surgeon is crucial to understanding the procedure specifics and whether any revisions might be necessary.
Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen.

At 5 months post op you should no longer be wearing a surgical compression garment. There are studies that after 6-8 weeks compression like this can cause weakening of the abdominal muscles. You can have edema for a year or longer. Try a low salt diet and no alcohol. This can help cut down on the swelling.

I would suggest meeting with your primary care physician and being checked for food allergies. You may have swelling because of your colon and not related to surgery.

At five months post op the majority of the swelling has resolved and only minor changes would be anticipated ahead. I encourage you to visit with your surgeon to discuss your concerns. The cause of the fullness needs to be determined to know how to proceed. If it is residual subcutaneous fat you can consider liposuction. If it is internal fat (behind the muscle wall) weight loss would be needed for improvement.

Yes it is the final result. I recommend ultrasound examine of lower abdomen to see if excess fat, retained seroma, internal organs causing this. Then either revision TT with aggressive inferior muscle plication or liposuction. Best to virtual consult with....

To make an accurate assessment regarding the outcome of a plastic surgery procedure we always need to see a complete set of before and after pictures. If you don’t have before and after pictures then contact your surgeon and ask them to forward the pictures they took. At five months your results finally. The only exception is the scarlet which will continue to mature for another year. The most common reason individuals have a bulging abdomen after this procedure is individuals who have an excess visceral fat and this is often visible, and can be determined, based on looking at preoperative pictures, or during an examination.
Individuals who have access, visceral fat, should be told that they will not get a flat abdomen, unless they lose weight in conjunction with having the procedure.
There are four tissue variables that determine what the abdomen looks like. If somebody doesn’t like the appearance of their abdomen, the problem is almost always with one or more of those tissue variables. this is true whether they’ve had cosmetic surgery or not.
The four tissue variables that determine what the abdomen looks like are issues related to skin laxity, excess subcutaneous fat, muscle separation from previous pregnancy, or excess visceral or intra-abdominal fat.
A tummy tucks primarily treats, abdominal skin, laxity, and muscle separation from previous pregnancies.
It’s unlikely that insufficient muscle tightening is the underlying cause for not getting a flat abdomen from this procedure.
Being able to differentiate between the four tissue variables should be fairly straightforward, and all plastic surgeons should be capable of doing this.Generally speaking, there shouldn’t be surprises and results should be predictable.
Consider dropping 5 pounds and taking a new set of pictures and see if your abdomen improves. If it does, then continue losing weight until you get the body shape you want. Individuals who have had issues with visceral fat have usually always had some fullness in their lower abdomen even before pregnancies.
Follow up with your provider reschedule if you in person second opinion consultations.
I suggest having someone else take the picture for you or use that timer on your camera creating pictures consistent with the way plastic surgeons take before and after pictures. Better yet have your surgeon take a complete set up before and after pictures and refer to those when getting an assessment.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD