Which surgery(s) will i need after likely umbilicoplasty when I was 8 & stomach isn't smooth? (Photo)

Question

I was given umbiliplasty(i think) when i was around 8 years old because i was born with a huge belly button. My stomach isn't smooth because of it. I'm looking to get a 360 lipo and I am wondering if it will be enough to also address the irregularities in my belly button area? I'm not looking to change the shape of the belly button i was given.

Alan Gonzalez, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello @Fantastic9736, thank you for your question and showing your picture. To achieve a better result, you may want to consider an extended muscle application. There is also a mini lipectomy that can remove excess skin. If you would like more information and options, I would recommend consulting one or several board certified plastic surgeons. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez MD FACS

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

The contour issues of your abdomen are not just related to fat distribution but also from scar tissue and rearranging of tissues during the umbilical plasty. it looks like your surgeon did a rotation flap to create skin to make a belly button. It’s a little hard to know not having been there at the time or having access to before and after pictures of your surgery as a child.
For sure some improvements can be had.
Reducing your overall subcutaneous fat layer can be done with weight loss or liposuction. Most people who have high volume liposuction typically regain the weight unless they make a conscious effort to reduce caloric intake. when it comes to Liposuction it is a far more difficult procedure to deliver quality results on a regular basis than most people believe and this includes plastic surgeons. liposuction is permanent and irreversible and can leave people disfigured if not done well.
Liposuction has the greatest variance in outcomes purely based on who does the procedure of any operation I’ve ever seen.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of choosing the most talented and experience provider for Liposuction.
I recommend you start the process by making a list of local board-certified plastic surgeons who seem to have high number of quality liposuction pictures on their website or have a lot of reviews that mentioned patients being very happy from liposuction procedures. after that schedule in person consultations with each one of these providers. I highly recommend avoiding virtual consultations whenever possible.
During each consultation you need to be an advocate for yourself and this means properly vetting each plastic surgeon.
I recommend patients as surgeons to open up their portfolio and show their entire collection of before and after pictures for abdominal liposuction results. you’re not gonna find a surgeon who has previous cases with the same abdominal scars but they may have some who’ve had previous abdominal surgery. being shown a handful of preselected pictures which most likely represent the best results of the providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of an average results look like in the hands of each provider.
This is why it’s important to get plastic surgeons to open up their portfolio and show as many pictures as they are willing to. An experience provider should have no difficulty showing you at least 50 sets of before and after pictures of abdominal liposuction results which is a fairly common procedure.
Ask providers to show as many pictures as possible of patients with similar body characteristics to your own. You may also want to ask to see examples of patients with excellent outcomes, average outcomes and less than outcomes. When reviewing the pictures look carefully for any skin contour irregularities in any of the treated areas. You should also ask the provider to point out what areas were treated and what areas were not treated and look carefully at the transition zones between treated and untreated areas. abdomen 360 is a vague in my opinion inappropriate term because it doesn’t define what’s included and what’s not. personally I view the torso as a single anatomic unit and like to treat the entire torso when doing Liposuction. A full torso includes upper abdomen, lower abdomen, love handles, waist, entire back and under arm all the way to the side of the breast. by treating the entire torso there are no left untreated areas so there will be no transition zones from treated to untreated areas. for example Abdurhman 360 typically does not include the back and this often leaves the waist being thin in the back still looking fat afterwards.
Continue having consultations until you feel like you’re found the most qualified provider for your needs.
I also recommend reading all reviews and various physician review websites avoiding providers with any significant number of justified negative reviews. The absence of justify negative reviews is more important and more telling than having an abundance of positive reviews.
Alternatively you could lose weight and skip liposuction. I believe the contour irregularities on your abdomen are more related to scar tissue contraction from your previous surgery then fat distribution but Liposuction should be able to make some improvements in this area.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Jose A. Munoz, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Hi and welcome to our forum!From your photo, I note significant abdominal scarring resulting from a healed curved incision. There is an apparent bulge of the left lower abdomen between the limbs of the scar. Without an in-person examination, I cannot ascertain if this represents fatty tissue trapped in scar involving the soft tissue between the previous surgical scars or if there is an underlying residual or recurrent hernia which may have been repaired with your original surgery as the healed scar is of significant size for an umbilicoplasty.Visit a board certified plastic surgeon for in-person evaluation and discussion. Try to find documentation of your previous surgery (if it is still available). Best wishes...

Which surgery(s) will i need after likely umbilicoplasty when I was 8 & stomach isn't smooth? (Photo)

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Which surgery(s) will i need after likely umbilicoplasty when I was 8 & stomach isn't smooth? (Photo)

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Everything you need to know about Lipo 360

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