How do I treat the necrosis on my belly button? (photo)

Thank you for your question and photo. I do not see any tissue death in the belly button on this photo. You might have some separation and this should heal just fine. The concern I have with your surgery is the lack of follow up, since you had surgery abroad. Your lower abdomen looks "full". Either you have a large fluid collection which would need to be aspirated or you did not have adequate liposuction done during your surgery. you do have excess fat on the hips and it is not possible to evaluate the contours of your back from this photo. Good luck with your healing.

The circulation to the belly button can be compromised with a tummy tuck, especially if a hernia is present, which can lead to necrosis.  Usually when there is necrosis, there is black tissue present which is difficult to see in your photo.  Often times, if there is a small are of necrosis it will scar in and not be very noticeable.  As long as there is no infection, I would recommend keeping the area clean and placing some ointment on the wound.  If there are any concerns about the appearance, I would see a plastic surgeon for follow up.

Dear Bepohica,You should see a plastic surgeon near you.  I agree that it is difficult to see your belly button on the photo and I can not tell if there is necrosis of it. Also, in order to diagnose a seroma you need to be seen in person, that can not be done over the internet.  I do not recommend vitamin E cream as it will weaken the scar and widen it. the best scar therapy is silicone gel sheets, but you need to wait to use those.  The best thing to do in your situation is see a plastic surgeon near you and follow their advise. Best of luck. 

Since it may be hard for you see your doctor your best bet is to pay to see a plastic surgeon in the area you live. He or she will charge  you based on the time and level of complexity of what you need. If you need treatment such as aspiration of a seroma you may find that you are going to spend a good bit of additional money. When having surgery out of the country you should know that it can be risky and cost more then you think in the end if things like this pop up since the USA doctor you see has no idea what was done to you and will charge you for treatment.  In fact many plastic surgeons you call will not want to see you since they do not want to assume the risk. Good Luck!

I don't see any necrosis on your navel. It looks alive and well! I would always follow what your surgeon recommends.

Thank you for including pictures with your question. Your surgeon should have explained to you the risk of potential injury to your belly button after a tummy tuck. The most important thing is to keep the area clean. Wash with mild soap and water then apply antibacterial ointment twice a day. The necrotic skin will likely fall off with time and your belly button will heal underneath. If the necrotic portion is significant it may require debridement to prevent infection.I would not use any scar cream or treatments until the belly button is completely healed.This problem usually heals very well; remember that our belly buttons are simply scars from where our umbilical cord used to be. I hope this helps.

 Umbilical stalk skin necrosis means that the barrier between these permanent sutures and the outside world may be breached, creating the possibility of internal suture infection. Antibacterial ointment will not only reduce the likelihood of an infection, but will also promote the healing of the umbilical stalk if some of the stalk is still viable (i.e. it has enough blood flow to survive).The best course of action is local wound care as mentioned above and frequent visits to your plastic surgeon. Regarding the long–term appearance of your new umbilicus: the sutures through the skin adjacent to your belly button will create permanent suture marks if they are not removed soon. Ask your surgeon if that can be done in order to avoid a pattern of dot-like scars around your new umbilicus which will make it look like a surgicalbelly button, not a natural belly button. It is possible to place umbilical skin sutures so that they pass through the dermis only (and not the epidermis) on the abdominoplasty skin flap side of the umbilical closure. You may ultimately require some form of revisional surgery once the belly button wound has healed, but in most cases a definitive secondary procedure cannot be done for at least 6 months or so. So you will need to be patient, take good care of the wound, and see your doctor frequently as this issue evolves.

I have had a look at your tummy button and
it doesn’t look to me as if it has got necrosis, although it is difficult to
see from the photograph.A necrotic tummy button is black and we
normally treat these with applications of antibiotic ointment and regular
dressings and washing. For the vast
majority of patients the tummy button recovers very well.If you are concerned about your tummy button
I would suggest however that you do go and see your plastic surgeon to suggest
the best way forward for you.

Based on your photo your bellybutton actually looks quite pink. There may be a small area of necrosis. I would avoid alcohol. It may further damage the tissues. If there is an area of necrosis I would recommend treating with a dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide twice a day and apply a benign antibiotic appointment such as bacitracin.

If you were to develop necrosis you would see a dark black scab or escar.  I see no evidence of wound healing problems.  I would continue to follow the advice of your plastic surgeon .  If there are questions I would begin by e mailing him a close up photo of the area.