When I was 6 years old, I had an emergency surgery and my left kidney was removed due to discovery of a Wilms Tumor. I was left with a large abdominal scar. All of my life it has made me very self conscious. I’m now 37 and I have had 2 full term pregnancies. I would like to know my options regarding my abdomen. Am I a candidate for a tummy tuck or would my scar be a problem? I want to feel confident and actually love my body, but I’m not sure what treatment will help me. Possibly scar removal?
September 24, 2021
Answer: Tummy tuck Hi, thank you for sharing your question. The upper abdominal scar may pose a small risk to the circulation of your abdominal skin, but give that surgery was so many years ago, I would like to say that a tummy tuck would be safe. I would confer with your board certified plastic surgeon and perhaps he/she may want to obtain imaging to confirm. Aside from this issue, you are a great candidate for this surgery. I hope this helps.
Helpful
September 24, 2021
Answer: Tummy tuck Hi, thank you for sharing your question. The upper abdominal scar may pose a small risk to the circulation of your abdominal skin, but give that surgery was so many years ago, I would like to say that a tummy tuck would be safe. I would confer with your board certified plastic surgeon and perhaps he/she may want to obtain imaging to confirm. Aside from this issue, you are a great candidate for this surgery. I hope this helps.
Helpful
September 24, 2021
Answer: Getting a tummy tuck Plastic surgeons do not like parallel scars. It creates a watershed zone that puts patients at risk for skin necrosis. Your previous scar it’s not only in the wrong position but the length of it makes having a full tummy tuck a high risk procedure. Some surgeons may consider doing the procedure and some may not. some plastic surgeons may do the procedure but be much less aggressive in order to maintain safety. it’s also possible that this could be done as a staged procedure creating some thing called a delay affect. this basically means creating partial parallel scars allowing blood vessels to grow and make up for the lack of an immediate blood supply followed by the definitive procedure at a later date. The last option is something called the reverse tummy tuck. I’m not a big fan of that procedure but in your case it may be a better option. Expect different plastic surgeons to have different opinions and recommendations for this one. i’m looking forward to hearing what others have to say. Best, Mats Hagstrom MD
Helpful
September 24, 2021
Answer: Getting a tummy tuck Plastic surgeons do not like parallel scars. It creates a watershed zone that puts patients at risk for skin necrosis. Your previous scar it’s not only in the wrong position but the length of it makes having a full tummy tuck a high risk procedure. Some surgeons may consider doing the procedure and some may not. some plastic surgeons may do the procedure but be much less aggressive in order to maintain safety. it’s also possible that this could be done as a staged procedure creating some thing called a delay affect. this basically means creating partial parallel scars allowing blood vessels to grow and make up for the lack of an immediate blood supply followed by the definitive procedure at a later date. The last option is something called the reverse tummy tuck. I’m not a big fan of that procedure but in your case it may be a better option. Expect different plastic surgeons to have different opinions and recommendations for this one. i’m looking forward to hearing what others have to say. Best, Mats Hagstrom MD
Helpful