I Just Had a Mini Tummy Tuck and my Belly Button Looks Really Low, is It Normal?

Question

I had my tummy tuck 3 days ago, and my belly button is very low, under my waist line. Will it adjust over the time? Thank you,

Young R. Cho, MD, PhD · Answer

One of the pitfalls of the mini tummy tuck is that you are limited by how much skin you can remove and the tethering of the belly button. As a result, the more skin you remove, the more stretched or pulled the belly button will resemble. Having said that, after surgery you will find that some of your tissues will relax and you may find that some of the low appearance of the belly button at day 3 softens over time.

S. Larry Schlesinger, MD, FACS · Answer

If your mini tummy tuck did not include an umbilical slide (release of the belly button from below and reinsertion into the rectus sheath at a lower point), then the stalk of the belly button may pull it upward over time. If it did include an umbilical slide, then where it is, is where it is. Obviously 3 days post op is too early to know what the final outcome will be. Please discuss this with your plastic surgeon as he or she, I am sure, will have a very good explanation for what you think is a very low riding belly button. Take heart. As the swelling go down, things often change, and very often for the better.

Michael A. Fallucco, MD, FACS · Answer

3 days following your mini tummy tuck procedure is too early to know the final position of the umbilicus (or belly button). Your skin is going to relax and you will see your final shape take place over the next 3-6 months. In certain patients, if this remains to low there are ways to correct it. For instance, once your skin has relaxed and the scar tissue settled it is possible to re-elevate the abdominal skin/fat (as in the previous procedure) and above the umbilicus and make an incision around the belly button to "re-drape" the abdominal skin and place the belly button in the appropriate position.

Thomas Fiala, MD, FACS, FRCSC · Answer

This is a problem that can occur if the belly button is not re-shifted back to its correct position with an umbilicoplasty, as in a full TT. If it doesn't correct with time and relaxation of your skin, you might need to have the surgeon do this at a later stage. Right now, though, it's too early to tell - give it a couple of months before deciding on this.

Tom J. Pousti, MD · Answer

Thank you for the question.

	It is much too early to evaluate the results of your tummy tuck surgery;  it is likely that the bellybutton will adjust superiorly to some degree over the course of the next few weeks/months.

	However, you have touched on one of the shortcomings of the mini tummy tuck surgery,  in that it does not necessarily address the appearance or the position of the umbilicus sufficiently.

	Hopefully you will be pleased with the end results of surgery.

	Best wishes.

Gordon Lewis, MD · Answer

While a mini procedure seems like a great idea, there are pitfalls.  In a mini tummy tuck, the umbilicus is left in its native place, but skin below is removed. This will nearly always pull the umbilicus down.  If the base of the umbilicus is short, the downward pull will be minimal.   However, if the base of the umbilicus is longer, the umbilicus will become more substantially pulled downward. 

	This may improve a little bit with time as the lower abdominal skin stretches out a bit, but your belly button will not likely return to its earlier position.  This is something you should talk about with your surgeon.  

	If you really don't like the new position of the umbilicus, conversion to a full tummy tuck will solve the problem.

I Just Had a Mini Tummy Tuck and my Belly Button Looks Really Low, is It Normal?

Answers (6)

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