Abdominal Bulge - Is this a failed muscle repair or possibly a hernia formation? (Photos)

From your photograph it seems you have a complex situation with extreme looseness of your abdominal wall and what I think is significant umbilical distortion. Your weight gain may or may not play a significant role in this. I would absolutely recommend you return to your plastic surgeon who could better diagnose the situation and perhaps offer some ideas about going forward. Good luck with things.

I encourage you to return to your surgeon for an evaluation. You may have more visceral fat as a result of the weight gain contributing to the contour. The fascia may have stretched as well. Your surgeon can determine if further tests are warranted.

The abdominal wall has 2 components: the muscle as well as the fascia. The fascia is the lining of the muscle. Increasing your mechanical strength of the abdominal wall through exercise can increase the muscle strength and help. Your fascia cannot be helped by exercise. At the time of surgery, usually the fascia is repaired. It may be possible that you have gained weight and the intra-abdominal fat you have gained is now pushing your anterior abdominal wall anterior and the strength of the fascia and muscle is not able to hold it flat. You can start abdominal core exercises such as sit-ups, planks and pilates or undergo abdominoplasty again with mesh reinforcement. The mesh creates a more hourglass figure by compressing the abdominal wall resulting in early satiety and helps maintain a reduced weight. You appear to have generalized bulging and not a specific hernia. A hernia is a complete loss of strength of the fascia layer.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.