Natural Looking Belly Button After Tummy Tuck?

Question

Do you think my belly button will open up and look more natural after everything starts to relax and heal? How long before my belly button starts to open up and look normal again? Right now it looks like a coin slot (I am 2 and a half weeks post-op).

Matthew Schulman, MD · Answer

It is difficult to tell. The belly button will definitely change as it heals, but in my experience, the belly button tends to get a little smaller as time goes on (scar tissue). So if your belly button is very narrow right now, it may get narrower. 
One little "trick" that helps to keep the belly button from getting too small as it heals, is to keep a marble in it (I know it sounds crazy, but it keeps it "splinted" open). Obviously, do not do this without checking with your doctor first!

J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello, and thank you for your question about how your belly button will heal after a tummy tuck. First, congratulations on reaching the early stages of recovery — at just two and a half weeks post-op, you are still very early in the healing process.

It’s completely normal for the belly button to look tight, small, and like a "coin slot" at this point. After a tummy tuck, the skin and tissues around the belly button are pulled tight and repositioned, which initially creates swelling and tension in the area. The belly button often looks very narrow, flat, or closed early on — but this almost always improves with time as the swelling resolves and the scar tissue around the belly button softens.

Most patients notice their belly button starts to look more natural around 8 to 12 weeks after surgery, although it can take up to 6 months or longer for it to fully relax, round out, and settle into a more natural appearance. Massaging the area gently (only if cleared by your surgeon) and keeping the skin hydrated can also help once your surgeon advises it’s safe to start.

If, after about 6 months to a year, your belly button still looks too tight, small, or distorted, revision options do exist. However, the vast majority of patients are happy with the final shape once full healing is complete.

Right now, patience is key. You are exactly where you should be at two and a half weeks, and things will continue to improve over the coming months.

Wishing you a smooth and beautiful recovery ahead!

Sincerely,
Dr. J. Timothy Katzen, MD, MBA, FASMBS, FICS
(Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and President of the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons; Fellow of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American College of Surgery, International College of Surgery, and American Board of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery; Member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, and RealSelf Hall of Fame)

Please continue following your surgeon’s healing guidelines closely, attend all follow-up visits, and give your body the time it needs. Belly buttons — just like the rest of your tummy tuck results — truly get better with time.

Eddy Dona, MBBS, FRACS · Answer

People often think that with a tummy tuck the surgeon creates a new belly button. This is not the case, you keep your original belly button! However, you do end up with a scar around your belly button.
Surgically, an incision is made around the belly button, but the belly button does not physically move&hellip;.it remains attached to the underlying muscle.
The skin above the belly button is lifted off the muscle, the skin is then pulled down over the top of the belly button and stitched to the pubic skin.
Then towards the end of the operation an incision is made in the skin at the level where the belly button lies underneath and the belly button is brought back to the outside world and stitched into position.
Surgeons use all manner of techniques or incisions to deliver the belly button. Ultimately you want a near normal appearing belly button and the least visible scar possible.
The technique I’ve developed over the years I believe provides the best possible and least noticeable scar in the vast majority of my patients. Typically I’m converting what is prior to surgery a very unhappy looking belly button, to a cute little belly button.

David J. Levens, MD · Answer

There are many techniques to attempt to recreate as attractive and natural a belly button (umbilicus) as possible. Keeping the size of a belly button small is best. With healing there tends to be initial tightening of a scar over the first few months. As the belly button scar is circular it may tend to get smaller early on but stretching of the scar can take place as the scar matures with gentle daily scar molding and massage therapy.

Richard J. Bruneteau, MD · Answer

It’s not unusual for the umbilicus to undergo significant
changes in the immediate post-operative period.Wound healing is a dynamic process and for this reason, the shape of the
belly button may change.The coin slot
umbilicus that you describe may change as wound healing continues and swelling
resolves.This may result in a rounded
umbilicus with a more natural appearance.Unfortunately,
even after resolution of swelling and further wound healing, many patients are
still unhappy with the appearance of their umbilicus.Under these circumstances, a revision
umbilicoplasty may be necessary under local anesthesia.This is a difficult procedure that’s not
always successful.It’s
important to be patient and maintain good communication with your surgeon.Remember it’s still early and significant
improvement may occur with normal wound healing.

Jerome Edelstein, MD · Answer

Swelling can hide the results of your surgery. Please wait at least three to four months before inspecting your results. By this time, the majority of swelling will have subsided and your belly button may become more pronounced.  Best of luck!

Farbod Esmailian, MD · Answer

Every surgeon does their belly button in a particular way.  Right now you do have some swelling and it will settle over time and may open up.  It will take about 4 months time before the swelling resolves.  At that point you can then re-evaluate and see how your belly button looks like.
At that point if you so desire you can get a revision done to make it look better, this is not impossible but is tricky and difficult.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD · Answer

At this point in time, there are alot of forces working on the belly button that make it difficult to predict exacxtly how your belly button will eventually look. There are scar contraction forces that tend to make it smaller and wound tension forces that tend to make it larger.
In my own practice, I prefer to make them smaller because they have a tendency to get larger in many instances. If they do not, I occasionally have to do a revision  to make it larger and rarely to make it smaller.

Marvin F. Shienbaum, MD · Answer

Tummy Tuck navels can be mae oblong, square, triangular, or even into a vertical slit. They can even be made to look "hooded". A study in the Plastic Surgery Journal revealed that the elliptically shaped umbilicus is the most preferred and natural looking.

William Aiello, MD · Answer

Hi Girl From Texas, It's very early to tell what your final outcome will be for you navel. You are still likely very swollen at only 2.5 weeks post op. If your surgeon was able to show you a consistent history of before and after photos that demonstrate the "style" belly button he does for patients, it's likely you will be similar and achieve the same outcome. On the chance you do not, a revision is simple in office procedure, you can discuss in a few months after you've had adequate time to see what your actual outcome will be. Good luck to you!

Natural Looking Belly Button After Tummy Tuck?

Answers (13)

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