Tummy tuck revision? Above my belly button bulges & my stomach is uneven (Photos)

Dear brooklyn1977,
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

Hello @brooklyn1977, thank you for your question and showing you pictures. There are several factors to consider, among which is the surgical technique and a few additional tests to establish what really happened, and from there implement a surgical plan based on your needs and expectations. 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)

The muscle is literally a steak and it will not remain tight forever, the condition which will make fail a muscle repair is putting on weight. The visceral fat will push (inside-out) the muscle and will overstretch it again.
The most important recommendation Is to lose at least 20-30 lbs in order to see the real and visible reduction of visceral fat and the protruding abdomen.
Be encouraged!
Dr. Cárdenas

You need an examination to see if this is residual fat or if the muscle repair is loose or if it is internal fat. With internal fat, you have to lose weight.

An in person evaluation is best but the contour that concerns you is likely from one of two scenarios, or a combination of both. One scenario is that your muscle repair has failed and you are seeing the result of abdominal wall laxity. The second scenario is that you have excess intra abdominal fat. This is the fat behind your muscle wall that surrounds your organs. The only way to address this fat is through weight loss. The contour could also be a combination of these two scenarios.

Thanks for the3 posted photos but no front view is included? Appears you have few issues. #1. supra bb bulge from split muscle, fat, or both. #2. large visceral fat amounts causing the failed muscle repair. First obtain an abdominal ultrasound to determine the muscle split, sub dermal fat amounts. Then lose weight to decrease abdominal amounts of visceral fat. After that revision of TT with redo muscle can be offered at $10,000 since is a much more difficult surgery.

To make a quality assessment on the outcome of a plastic surgery operation we need to see proper before and after pictures. If you don’t have before and after pictures and ask your surgeon to forward the ones they took.On the pictures you’ve included your abdomen is definitely bulging. The most likely reason is excess intra-abdominal or visceral fat.
Most likely this was present on your preoperative pictures and if that’s the case you should’ve been told that weight loss was necessary in order to get a flat abdomen from a tummy tuck.
With excess visceral fat the volume Hass to go somewhere and no amount of aggressive muscle tightening will make the volume disappear. The front abdominal wall is still going to be weaker than the flanks and spine and that’s where it will bulge.
Having excess visceral fat after a tummy tuck typically gives individuals a tight feeling abdomen making it feel like there’s increased intra-abdominal pressure and a sensation that it’s hard to take a deep breath.
Weight loss is what you need and weight loss will get you a flat abdomen.
Revision is not appropriate until you’ve lost the weight first.
Redoing the procedure will only resort in the tissues being stretched out again from the increased intra-abdominal volume.
A thorough in person consultation should inquire a thorough assessment and give patients accurate predictions about Ken and cannot be achieved with each surgical procedure. Plastic surgeons should be able to differentiate individuals who have access visceral fat and accurately predict that they will not get a good result unless weight loss is done preferably prior to surgery.
No surgeon could give you a flat abdomen if there is sufficient excess visceral fat to make the abdomen bulge.
To get an accurate assessment you need an in person second opinion consultation. For a second opinion consultations I recommend doing those as in person consultations coming prepared bringing with you copies of all the before and after pictures and a copy of your operative report. These are all available from your surgeons office as they are part of your medical record.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD