5ft, 132lbs, is lower belly pooch 7 months post tummy tuck something that can be fixed? (Photos)

Hello @Iginlach83, thank you for your question and showing you pictures. It is important to take into account several aspects among which is the surgical technique applied, and wait at least 1 year to consider a revision . The best course of action is to consult one or several board certified plastic surgeon for more information and options tailored specifically to your needs. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez MD FACS. American Society of Plastic Surgery Member (ASPS), International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science Member (IFATS), Colombian Society of Plastic Surgery member (SCCP)

Dear ginlach83,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination, you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Thank you for your question. Unfortuneately you will need some type of liposuction to get the flatness you desire.

I would offer revision of TT scar and dog ears with lipo of lower abdomen. Best to virtual consult with.... Fees $5,000.

It's difficult to say if the lower abdomen can be improved without knowing more information. If muscle repair was not performed, then having that done should make the abdomen flatter. If it is from visceral fat then weight loss should improve it. If it is subcutaneous fat then liposuction should address it.

Dear ginlach83,
Overall, the results of your tummy tuck look very good. There are a number of things that come to mind as possibly affecting the answers to your specific questions. First, I must inform you that body shape studies have shown that a little lower abdominal pooch is considered a sign of fertility and desirability in women. With that being said, we have no before photos, or before and after measurements to objectively assess your results. Finally, at such a diminutive height your 132lbs is indicating that you have weight somewhere. That weight may be in the form of internal abdominal fat causing the slight bulging. You could even have uterine fibroids creating the pooch. A visit to your gynecologist might be in order. Follow your plastic surgeon's instructions and good luck!

There are a few points that can be fairly criticized about your outcome.
First and foremost in order to make a quality assessment on the outcome of a procedure we always need to see proper before and after pictures.
If you don’t have before pictures then ask your surgeon to send the ones they took.
Overall your tummy tuck looks pretty typical. The things that could’ve been done differently if this set the incision much lower. when we remove all the skin and the fat from the lower abdomen there is usually a difference in the thickness of the subcutaneous fat in the groin area compared to the mid abdomen around the belly button. when we go to re-approximate the skin edges after cutting out the extra skin there’s often a mismatch between the thickness of subcutaneous fat.
The lower you make the incision the more about the subcutaneous fat mismatch there is. This can be adjusted by removing fat on the upper skin edge so it matches the thickness of the fat on the lower skin edge. in your case that was not done and there is a step off that demonstrates this abrupt change in thickness of subcutaneous fat which before surgery was more gradual.
Liposuction may help even out the step off by reducing the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer at and above the scar.
It would however be nice to lower the incision as well.
Personally I’d like to make a convex incision around the mons pubis then continue the incision right in the groin increase.
Doing this would include having to make a new opening for your belly button and the older opening would result in a small vertical scar between your belly button and your main incision.
The easiest revision would be Liposuction but The total impact would not be as good as resetting the scar in a lower position.
There also appears to be slight bulging of your lower abdomen.
It’s unusual for plastic surgeons to not deal with sufficient muscle tightening during this procedure.
Seeing what your muscle wall looked like and preoperative pictures would shed some light on this as wood doing an examination.
The overall contour of your lower abdomen is most likely a combination of the shape of your muscle wall and the sun degree remaining subcutaneous fat.
Liposuction could probably bring in your lower abdomen by about 1 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.
Each plastic surgeon has their own way of designing tummy tuck incisions.
Look for results by other providers that have more impressive looking incision designs to get an idea of who you may want to consult with for a revision.
Having your own provider do the revision may serve as a source of cost savings but you’ve already seen how that person does the procedure.
Tummy tech should be considered a permanent and irreversible operation.
The time to properly vet plastic surgeons is ideally before your operation.
I recognize it is now after the fact but the process of finding providers to do secondary procedures or revision work is more or less the same as finding providers for doing primary procedures.
Start by looking at lots of plastic surgeons websites in your community and make note of who has the greatest quantity and quality of tummy tuck results.
Look specifically at who gets the most natural looking belly buttons, a very lowest that scar that follows an atomic contours naturally and evenly on both sides with a Torso looking balanced proportionate and attractive from all angles including from behind.
Bring pictures of your own torso taken the same way plastic surgeons take before and after pictures including pictures showing your body from behind to the consultations.
Before consulting create a rating system or a grading system for quality results specifically in regards to natural looking belly buttons and a quality designed incision.
During each in person consultation ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before and after pictures.
Being shown a handful of preselected images which must likely represent the best results of the providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results will look like or how many of these procedures that surgeon has actually performed.
For a reference and experience surgeon should have no difficulty showing you at least 50 sets of before and after pictures of commonly performed procedures like a tummy tuck.
Ask providers to show your only pictures of previous patients who are very similar body characteristics to your own.
Other patients who had different body shapes will have a different potential outcome and are not good representative images.
Ask the provider to show you examples of excellent outcomes, average outcomes and outcomes that didn’t turn out as well as they had hoped for.
We all have a variety of outcomes and it’s fair game for patients to ask to see these type of results.
Providers may be reluctant to open up at their portfolios and to show you anything other than their past results. regulars that you’re the one in charge of deciding who is going to do your procedure and insist on getting the information you need to make a well educated decision.
Make it clear to the provider that your decision of who you choose will be based in large part based on providers showing honesty and being willing to show up variety of outcomes and sufficient quantity of results to clearly demonstrate what average results look like.
Make notes and spend plenty of time looking at the before and after pictures and give scores or rate each one including the number of pictures the provider shows you.
You should also make a note of how thorough the surgeon is regarding all aspects of a proper consultation including review of medical history, examination, assessment, review of before and after pictures, preparation for surgery, discussion of recovery, risks and benefits etc. etc.
You should always ask what each surgeons revision rate and revision policy is.
Most people do not have a lot of experience consulting with plastic surgeons. Plastic surgeons on the other hand have lots of experience.
Recognize that you were the one paying for the procedure and you have a right to vet the provider just like you’re hiring someone to work for you.
There’s no correct number does anyone need to find the right provider for any particular procedure. there is a substantial difference in outcome in regards to consistency and quality among different providers. The difference in outcome on some procedures can be substantial. this includes providers who all have for training, board certification and overall good reputations.
To find the most talented and experience provider requires vetting multiple providers. The more providers you interview the better of your chance of finding the best provider for your needs.
The process requires time and dedication but considering the impact I think it’s worth the effort.
Attempting shortcuts by having virtual consultations will lessen the chance of finding the right provider.
I think most patients should probably start with around five consultations and considering scheduling many more unless they feel very comfortable having found the right provider.
Patients should have a very good idea of what the results would look like by having been shown lots of before and after pictures of previous patients who are very similar body characteristics to your own.
You could go back and follow up with your provider and ask him or her to do your revision or you could get second opinion consultations.
The cost of the procedure is in many ways not related to the quality outcome.
Overall your tummy tuck result is probably very typical and should be considered an average result done by an average surgeon.
I’ve seen better and I’ve seen worse results.
The recovery from revision work may or may not be in part with what your first procedure was like.
If the score is lowered then you will most likely need drains. If muscle tightening is done then expect the same level of discomfort during the recovery.
Tell me a joke that does not include muscle tightening as a far easier recovery in regards to pain and intensity then if muscle tightening is involved.
A simple revision that doesn’t include changing the position of the scar but simply making the contour even whether done with open surgery or by Liposuction will have a very easy recovery that should only put you back a few days and should not require placement of a drain.
Talk to your surgeon to see what he or she feels they can do and are willing to offer you and consider also consulting with other providers to get a more accurate assessment and better understanding of treatment options in regards to secondary procedures or revision work.
For a second opinion consultations come prepared to bringing with you all before and after pictures and a copy of your operative report. These are available from your surgeons office if you request them.
Good luck,
Mats Hagstrom MD