Is it possible for my torso to have decreased in length after a tummy tuck?

Question

Is it possible that my belly button position being lower is causing an optical illusion?

Nelson Castillo, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question.  Typically during a tummy tuck your belly button is left attached to your stomach muscles and the skin around your tummy tuck is tightened.  You may be having an optical illusion as a result of the new appearance of your stomach, but your overall torso length is determined by your skeleton and did not change with surgery.  Depending on the amount of excess skin that you had before surgery, removal of any overhanging skin may be more responsible for the illusion of a shortened torso.

William Andrade, MD · Answer

Hello, during a typical tummy tuck the belly button is left attached to the abdominal muscles so its position can't change much (technically it might be in a slightly different position).  Is it possible that your are just getting used to the new appearance of your abdomen?

Sheila S. Nazarian, MD · Answer

It is quite possible that the new location of your belly button is causing you to perceive your torso as shorter, but that is not actually the case. My guess is that with time, as your eye gets used to your new BB, this will pass. Best, Dr. Nazarian

Hisham Seify, MD, PhD, FACS · Answer

No, it is not possible for your torso to have “decreased in length”
after your tummy tuck. Maybe you are still walking hunched or it could be an
optical illusion from the tightness of the skin or the new placement of the
belly button.If you send a picture, it
would help to answer the question more precisely, however this still does not
better than discussing your concern with your surgeon.

R. Louis Adams, MD · Answer

My patients often voice this concern of a shorter torso after tummy tuck. This occurs early in the healing and will resolve itself in a few months.The shorter torso is a result of the closure of the abdomen with the patient in the sitting position on the operating table. The whole torso is contracted and patients feel as if they have lost their waist.  If yoiu are within the first months of surgery I think there is nothing to worry about.

Semira Bayati, MD, FACS · Answer

The length of your torso is fixed and cannot change with surgery.  However, the reduction in loose skin and belly button repositioning could cause an optical illusion that the torso is more compact and appears shorter.

Ravi Somayazula, DO · Answer

the new position of your belly button could be causing you to perceive your torso length as being different than what it once was. The actual length of your torso is fixed because it is determined by the distance from your inferior ribcage margin to your hip bones. The circumferential curvature length of your abdomen will have been decreased by virtue of the tummy tuck but not the pure torso length. regards,Dr. Ravi Somayazula

Is it possible for my torso to have decreased in length after a tummy tuck?

Answers (7)

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