My belly hanging down and it makes my back hurts really bad and its so hard for me standing so long. Any suggestions?

If you're concerned about your health and you have so much abdominal tissue that its causing back pain then you probably need to loose a tremendous amount of weight.  You  need to seek serious lifestyle changes and help with weight loss through a center that specializes in this.  If this doesn't work, then gastric bypass or sleeve procedures may be  necessary.Once you have lost the weight, then you can consider plastic surgery to remove the excess skin.  This way, your results and your health would be optimized,

Thank you for your questions, and I am sorry that your belly has caused you such discomfort.  Without a photograph to make a surgical treatment recommendation, I would recommend you first reach your desired goal weight. This weight should be one that you are comfortable at, and can maintain.  Once at your goal weight, speak with your medical doctor about your overall level of health, to ensure that you are healthy enough to undergo surgery.  Once cleared, a board certified plastic surgeon can perform an in-person examination to make the best treatment recommendation for you.  

It is impossible to give you any reliable suggestions without seeing any photos much less being able to examine you.A lot of factors may be involved in your case such as Obesity, Spine problems, a Ventral Hernia or a combination of these.  Millions of Americans have overhangs and do not have your sysmptoms. For this reason, insurance companies view the correction of a tummy overhang as a cosmetic NOT as a necessary operation. When severe pain comes into the clinical picture the usual cause is the back and specifically the spine. Obesity and other factors are associated with a high incidence of a variety of spine disorders. If this is the case, performing a tummy tuck on you, assuming it was safe to do so, would not relieve nor correct the spine process.I would suggest you first see a Neuroseorgeon or Orthopedic surgeon specializing in back surgery to make sure your spine is not the cause before going elsewhere.

My rule of thumb when a patient says that back pain is related to a hanging abdomen is to first rule out the most obvious pain source-the back itself. Before exploring plastic surgery, orthopedic and neuromuscular problems need to be ruled out or treated.  You may have multiple conditions or issues, each of which requires treatment by the appropriate specialist. Good luck!

We've had some very good discussions within the plastic surgery community about the benefits of a tummy tuck when it comes to improving low back pain and urinary incontinence.We suspect that the reason for these improvements is the fact that repairing the stretched abdominal wall muscles during an abdominoplasty helps realign the pelvic and lumbar muscular "ring".  By putting these structures into a more effective position, they can function better at keeping the spine aligned and provide better contraction of the pelvic muscles that prevent leakage of urine.Of course, we're all very familiar with the cosmetic benefits of a tummy tuck, so in your case, I'd say GO FOR IT!  Find a trusted and caring Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in your area and go see what they have to say.Best of luck.

Thank you for the question. This is a question that cannot be answered without the aid of an in-person evaluation. I would suggest that you see a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon for an in-person examination and a discussion of your goals. Best of luck.

I am sorry to hear about the problem you are experiencing but online consultants will not be your best resource. My best suggestion: seek consultation with your primary care physician first. Make sure that you are in good health and potentially a good candidate for tummy tuck surgery. Then, seek consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss your concerns and goals. Best wishes.

First investigate with your other doctors that you don't have a spine problem eg herniated disc,arthitis,stenosis etc.If the spine and surrounding muscle are healthy and not improved by exercise,physical therapy,massage,manipulation etc you may be a candidate for a tummy tuck to improve appearance and to tighten the abdominal muscles surgically.Sometimes it will help back pain but no one can guarantee the pain will get better with this operationRobert Savage,MD