3 years post tummy tuck and I still swell badly around the scar. I can see the stitches inside my body. Is this normal? (Photo)

Your incision appears to have healed very well. However, if you are unhappy with the appearance of your scar and continue to get swelling, please see a board certified plastic surgeon to answer your questions.

At three years, you are fully healed and you’re no longer swollen from the surgery. The natural subcutaneous, fat thickness generally transitions from being quite thin in the groin area and being substantially thicker in the mid abdomen. During a tummy tuck, whether it’s a mini or a full, the skin over the area where the subcutaneous fat gradually transitions is removed. At the incision points does subcutaneous fat is generally thicker and the upper side than the lower side. Most plastic surgeons will accommodate this by thinning out the fat on the upper side of the incision line but sometimes there is a step off or transition at the incision line, regardless. This can sometimes look like swelling or fullness, but in reality, it’s more related to an abrupt change in subcutaneous fat thickness from removing the skin where the transition in fat thickness happened.
Sometimes revisions by either redoing the scar or removing some fat with Liposuction, can’t be helpful.
Most plastic surgeons will use layers of absorbable suture for the procedure. Some of the suture material or scar tissue related to it can be felt through the skin long after the procedure. I suggest you follow up with your plastic surgeon and have him or her address your concerns. Alternatively schedule a second opinion consultation with other providers in your community.
What you describe is not atypical and fairly normal. The degree of step off at the incision line varies based on each individual patient’s anatomy and candidacy for the procedure as well as how the procedure was performed.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD