Umbilical float (FAB) abdominoplasty - Pros and cons?

An umbilical float will lower the position of your belly button by at least 2 in. That may not be optimum for your shape. if you want to have the muscles fixed you're pretty close to a traditional but small abdominoplasty. Since you don't have a tremendous amount of excess skin you might have a short vertical scar down low that might actually connect with your horizontal scar in the shape of an upside down letter T. Make sure your surgeon uses Ink on your skin to show you the location of the horizontal scar and the possibility of having the vertical scar so it will be well below your garments. Good luck

Hi, thank you for sharing your question. An umbilical float is beneficial for patients that have a slightly higher belly button and upper abdominal skin laxity. The mini tummy tuck is good for those that have a small amount of lower abdominal skin excess. You seem to fit into the former group. I hope this helps.

Hello, an umbilical float abdominoplasty typically involves detaching the belly button and reattaching it at a slightly lower position on the abdomen. The operation might be combined with muscle tightening (rectus plication). In contrast, usually with a mini tummy tuck the umbilicus is left attached and the upper abdominal muscles are not tightened. The FAB procedure reshapes the upper abdomen a little more but unless a person's belly button is already sitting a little higher than they like, the person might not like the lower position of the belly button afterward. You would need a full history and physical examination by a plastic surgeon so they could assess your skin and muscle tone before helping you decide which of these options would best meet your goals.

Hi rettedgui,
Umbilical floating allows you to keep your same belly button while also getting full muscle repair of your abdomen. The belly button often sits a little lower than it is now after the surgery. This procedure is especially helpful in patients with a naturally high belly button and minimal loose abdominal skin. With a mini tummy tuck the belly button is (usually) not moved and the muscle above the belly button are (usually) not repaired but it vareis from provider to provider. Based on your pictures you would most likely benefit from a full muscle repair and full tummy tuck to address the extra loose skin you have. Each board certified plastic surgeon has their own techniques and preferences. Make sure the one you choose clearly explains your options and realistic goals for your body.
Dr. Andre P. MarshallDouble Board Certified Plastic SurgeonBeverly Hills, CA 90210

Thank you for your question and posting appropriate pictures. Not very many patients are a good candidate for a mini abdominoplasty and you seem to be one. Umbilical cfloat is it technique used to relocate your belly button. I find this to not provide depth in the umbilicus which is an aesthetic component. I like combining mini abdominoplasty with skin tightening using Renuvion. It’s best to have a virtual consultation to have options discussed of course.‘s

You appear to be an ideal candidate for an umbilical float procedure. It allows the full length of the rectus diastasis to be corrected without an umbilical scar. Only skin below the belly button is tightened. The skin around the umbilicus is not tightened. Recovery is slightly faster because the skin is not pulled as tight.

Hi, rettedgui! Thank you for your question and photos.
As I inspected your photos, I can say that you are a candidate for 3 possible operations, that have different pros and cons. These are: 1- Classical abdominoplasty, 2- Mini tummy-tuck and 3- floating umbilicus abdominoplasty.
Starting from the first, classical abdominoplasty needs more skin to remove but tightens both above and lower of the belly button. For your body, it has the disadvantages of a high scar and scar around the umbilicus. Second choice regarding this technique is low scar plus a vertical scar that will be 5 to 10 cm long.
A mini tummy tuck keeps the scar down inside the underwear, but can not tighten above the umbilicus, which can be annoying. Also upper abdominal muscles can not be repaired as wanted. Good sides are low scar and no scar around belly button.
In the floating umbilicus abdominoplasty, The belly button is cut from inside and upper/lowe muscle can be repaired. The good side is the low scar, no scar around umbilicus. Bad sides are low riding belly button after surgery (might be annoying) and limited amount of tissue removal (if removed too much belly button comes too much down looking very unnatural)
So these are the basics for tummy tuck techniques, pros and cons. So your priorities are important. Unfortunately there is not a technique with both low scar, no belly button scar and full tightness with full muscle repair. So you must decide with your surgeon regarding your priorities.

Umbilical float is a subcategory of MTT in which the belly button is detached from the abdominal wall from the inside, without any cut or scar externally around the BB, and pull it down for 2-3 cm and fix it to the abdominal wall internally. It gives good results in patients with no upper abdominal skin laxity, no need for muscle repair, and high set BB preoperatively. The recovery is not much different from MTT.
Based on your pictures, you have some upper abdominal skin laxity and BB is not too high. Also after 2 kids you probably need muscle repair that could be examined with a consultation.

Cutting the umbilical stock is a one time procedure and once severed it can never be positioned other than where skin laxity and skin tightening puts it. If you have more skin laxity or convert to a full tummy tuck the belly button may end up sitting in an unnatural Low position and it cannot be adjusted. I’ve seen too many patients who later in life regret having had the procedure to ever recommend a floating bellybutton.
The best option is to find a plastic surgeon who can do a full tummy tuck and Deliver and natural looking belly button on a consistent basis.
Do that by having multiple in person consultations at which time you should request to see their entire collection of before and after pictures. Being shown a handful of sample pictures which most likely represent the best results of the providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider. And experienced provider should have no difficulty showing you at least 50 sets of before and after pictures. If they have consistent natural looking belly buttons in all of their results then you found the right provider. getting a natural looking belly button during a full tummy tuck is the hardest part of the procedure and requires someone who is detail oriented and knows how to operate well. typically surgeons who get the belly button right get all the other aspects of the procedure correct as well.
Other characteristics of high-quality tummy tuck results include a very low set scar that follows anatomic contour naturally. The torso should look good from all angles including from behind.
For this and just about every other cosmetic surgical procedure the most important variable is finding the right provider.
Do that by having multiple in person consultations at which time you can probably vet the providers by ask them correct questions and asking them to show you their entire portfolio a before and after pictures.
You may want to ask providers to show as many pictures as possible of patients with similar body characteristics to your own. Likewise it’s fair game to ask providers to show pictures of excellent outcomes, average outcomes and less than outcomes. we all have them and I would think an experienced talented confident surgeon would have no difficulty showing you any of their results good and bad and everything in between.Finally I recommend reading all reviews on various physician review websites avoiding providers with any significant number of justified negative reviews.
The absence of justified negative reviews is more important and more telling than having an abundance of positive reviews.
When in doubt slow down and schedule more consultations.
Regardless of what procedure you choose these procedures are permanent and more or less irreversible. finding the right provider is the most important variable.
Find the right plastic surgeon and everything falls into place.
There are no shortcuts. It takes time and effort but considering what’s at stake I would think it’s worth the effort.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Hi and welcome to our forum!
The umbilical float procedure works well if the umbilicus is initially slightly high on the abdominal wall, making it more difficult to otherwise achieve closure without undue tension.
From your photos, your umbilicus is already located at the lower third of your abdomen. It will appear unnaturally low after this procedure. IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
Visit a board certified plastic surgeon for evaluation and discussion.
Best wishes...