Does the Skin Attach Back to the Muscle After a Tummy Tuck?

Yes it does! It forms a layer of scar tissue that sticks the skin down to the abdominal wall. The skin becomes swollen however and takes months for the circulation to reestablish itself and for the swelling to subside...I tell my patients that swelling is about 6 weeks and shaping about 6 months!!

When a tummy tuck is performed, the skin and fat in the lower abdomen is lifted and pulled and loose skin is removed, getting rid of any stretch marks, fat, and loose skin in the lower and in some cases, upper abdomen.  During the healing process, the body starts to reattach the skin and the underlying fat to the muscle layer below, restoring the normal anatomic layers of your abdomen.  I tell my patients that a tummy tuck is a surgery that is intended to return your body to the way it was before the first pregnancy and/or weight loss.  And, the healing process allows us to do that!

Absolutely, your skin will reattach to your abdominal wall and your normal anatomy will be restored.   It typically takes 4-6 weeks for this to occur.  

At one week, you will still have a fair amount of swelliing.   Most surgeons use drains or internal suturing to help close the space between the skin and muscle layers.

 

I wish you a safe and healthy recovery.

 
Dr. Gill

 

 

After a tummy tuck, most surgeons put drains in to remove the excess dilute bloody fluid your body secretes into the space between your skin and muscle.  Usually, within a week or two, the drainage slows down and the drains can be removed.  I usually put internal stitches in between the skin and muscle in order to speed up this process.  As a result, the drains on my patients sometime come out a few days post op.

The apron of skin and fat which is elevated off the muscles in a tummy tuck does reattach during the course of healing.  The skin does not directly attach to the muscle as there is a layer of fat interposed.  Seromas can interfere with this which is the reason drains are used.