What can be done to fix the outcome of my tummy tuck? (Photo)

Your abdomen can be fixed. Period. The obvious, but not only, issue I see is the protuberance of your abdomen. It's either fluid, excess and/or scarred fatty tissue, abdominal muscle laxity, or some combination of the three. The fix would depend on the diagnosis. Another issue is the hypertrophic vertical scar with surrounding old train track scars (from a previous intra-abdominal surgery?). The fix is excision and closure; post-surgical 24/7 elastic taping will virtually eliminate re-hypertrophism. Finally, and this may be only my preference, the central portion of your transverse incision is too high, cutting off the bottom portion of your abdomen visually, and expanding your hair bearing pubic area. The entire lower half of your abdominal skin flap should be advanced downward to rectify those two, less than desirable visible issues. As for your records, you'll need to tell your surgeon's office you're going to inform the California Medical Board that they are withholding your medical records. They'll take care of them for you, guaranteed.

Hello, thank you for your question regarding the outcome of your tummy tuck and the concerns you have about your results. I understand how disappointing and disheartening this experience must be for you, especially after placing your trust in a highly regarded surgeon.

Based on your profile picture and description, it appears that your abdominal wall may have some residual laxity. To correct this and achieve a flatter, more even abdomen, I would recommend the placement of an abdominal wall mesh. This would reinforce and support the weakened abdominal wall, helping to create a firmer, more contoured midsection. Additionally, your vertical scar should be revised for a more aesthetically pleasing outcome. During this revision surgery, not much lower abdominal skin will be removed, but the main focus will be on repairing the abdominal wall and refining the overall appearance of your tummy tuck.

Your belly button can also be completely reconstructed through an umbilicoplasty. This involves creating a new, natural-looking belly button by making an incision around the pre-existing navel and reshaping the tissue. If the previous surgical technique resulted in an unnatural belly button shape, this procedure can help restore a more aesthetically pleasing and proportional look.

If your results are causing you significant distress, I encourage you to seek a consultation with an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in tummy tuck revisions. Even if it means traveling out of state, finding the right surgeon who understands your goals and concerns will be essential in achieving the outcome you originally envisioned.

I hope this information helps you on your journey to feeling confident and happy in your body again. Best of luck.

Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

Dear Christina907,
I understand your concern. However, without a proper assessment, it would be difficult to determine what is wrong. It is best that you visit your plastic surgeon for further assessment or ask for a second opinion. Only after a thorough examination, you can get proper recommendations and advice.
Daniel Barrett, MDCertified, American Board of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

From the photos it appears you will need a revision to your tummy tuck for improvement. Begin by scheduling a few consultations with board certified plastic surgeons near you to listen to opinions. The correction will be determined based on the nature of the abdominal contour. If it is muscle wall laxity a revision can correct it and get you much flatter.

You need an examination to see what might be done. If it is all internal swelling, perhaps the muscle can be tightened. You might also get improvement with nonsurgical EMSculpt. Please go in for an evaluation.

It appears your muscle repair in your tummy tuck did not hold or was never done. Plus there’s no photos of your face to see what dishes you have there. Best virtual consult with to go over each area and detail. My initial impression is you need to complete redo of the tummy tuck with muscle repair and multiple layers and revision of vertical. As far as face issues cannot comment. Again best virtual consult with regards

To make it quality assessment, we need quality information.
This would add a minimum include a complete set of before and after pictures.
Before and after pictures are part of your medical record, if your provider took them.
First and foremost, I suggest you follow up with your plastic surgeon.
You keep referring to California so should we assume that you do not live in California? I generally do not recommend people travel long distances for elective surgical procedures.
Your provider is obligated to keep your medical records for several years after the procedure.
You should not have difficulty obtaining a copy of your medical records.
It looks like your abdomen is bulging.
Did you have muscle tightening as part of your procedure? A bulging abdomen either happens from loose abdominal muscles from previous pregnancies or excess visceral, fat or combination of both.
Your midline scar is also highly hypertrophy.
Your surgeon should be managing that scar to keep it under control at this point.
The minimum you should be using silicone tape and absolutely never scratching this car or allowing clothing to rub against it.
the only problem I see is the bulging of the abdomen and that has an explanation.
Unfortunately, we just don’t have enough information to tell you why your outcome looks the way it does.
The only problem I see is the bulging of the abdomen and that has an explanation.
Unfortunately, we just don’t have enough information to tell you why you’re outcome looks the way it does.
At an absolute minimum we need to see before and after pictures, but it would also be helpful to understand what was done during the procedure.
Signing the right plastic surgeon is not an easy task.
The most expensive surgeons are usually highly motivated by financial gain and are rarely the best surgeons.
While the best surgeons usually don’t give the lowest prices, they’re often not the most expensive either.
ToSigning the right plastic surgeon is not an easy task.
The most expensive surgeons are usually highly motivated by financial gain and are rarely the best surgeons.
While the best surgeons usually don’t give the lowest prices there often not the most expensive either.
To find the best plastic surgeon I recommend patients schedule multiple in person consultations with local plastic surgeons in their community.
During each consultation, ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before, and after pictures of previous patients, who had similar body characteristics to your own.
That should get you a pretty good understanding of what average results would look like for someone like yourself.
An experienced provider should have no difficulty showing you the before and after pictures of at least 50 previous patients.
Highly experienced surgeons should have access to 100 or preferably thousands of before and after pictures.
Being shown a handful of pre-selected images, representing only the best results of a providers career may be insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider.
it would be helpful if we understood what your concerns are.
I suggest you schedule a few in person second opinion consultations with other plastic surgeons in your community so you can at least get an understanding of why your results look the way they do.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD