How will my new belly button look after tummy tuck if I am keloid prone?

Thank you for your question — it's a very important consideration, especially for patients who are prone to keloid formation.
In some cases, depending on your anatomy, your surgeon may be able to perform a technique called a “floating belly button.” This involves releasing and repositioning the belly button internally without creating a new scar around it on the skin’s surface. This technique is more likely to be possible if your belly button is positioned slightly higher on your abdomen to begin with.
If a scar around the belly button is unavoidable, it's important to be proactive from the start. We typically recommend early and consistent steroid injections to minimize the risk of keloid development. In particularly high-risk cases, a very low dose of localized radiation may also be considered as a preventive measure to help keep keloid formation under control.
While there’s no guaranteed way to prevent keloids entirely, these strategies can significantly reduce the likelihood and severity. Be sure to discuss all of your options in detail with your plastic surgeon, who can tailor the approach to your unique anatomy and history.

If you are prone to keloids, there is a possibility that your belly button scar could thicken or become raised after a tummy tuck. However, since the belly button incision is typically small and circular, it tends to heal better than long, linear scars. To reduce the risk of keloid formation, your surgeon may recommend silicone gel or sheets, steroid injections, or pressure dressings early in the healing process. If a keloid does develop, options like steroid injections, microneedling, or surgical revision can help improve the appearance. Discussing your keloid history with your surgeon before surgery can help create a proactive scar management plan.

Keloids are benign tumors of scar tissue that grow outside the borders of the original incision. They can be very unsightly. A plastic surgeon should always evaluate how a person scars before recommending any aesthetic surgery. Having said that most patients in my practice that think they form keloids do not actually form keloids. They confuse hypertrophic scars for keloids. Hypertrophic scars are scars. They are a little thicker than what they should be. For my patients that are true keloid formers. I tell them that you have to expect that Form a keloid along any incision that I make. I am generally more vigilant with the scar than I am in keloid formers, having the patient come in more often and in addition to the treatments that you mentioned steroid injections can also be done to improve the appearance of the scar