Is There a Special Technique to Achieve a Hooded BB During a TT?

The belly button is perhaps the most important post surgical remnant of a tummy tuck.  To get a good belly button, there are several techniques:

    1.  I make a vertical ellipse one cm below the bottom edge of the belly button stalk.

     2.  My belly button starts out as a vertical ellipse being 15 mm long by 8 mm wide.

     3.  I defat the under surface of the skin for a distance of 2-3 cm around the ellipse.

     4.  I anchor the umbilical or belly button stalk to the rectus fascia with four 3/O PDS    sutures at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock.

     5.  All suturing is subcuticular with super glue at the umbilical abdominal wall junction. 

The above is my formula for an attractive, small, hooded umbilicus which is an inny that shows little to no scarring.

 

 

Yes, as long as you don't have previous scarring at the belly button, a hood can be achieved. This can be done in serveral ways.

One way is to make the tummy opening for the belly button with an upside down triangle at the top that splits the umbilical stalk.

Another way is to make the opening slightly lower than where the belly button stalk is attached to the abomen.

Most people consider an attractive belly button as one that is taller than it is wide. A tall but narrow opening that is slightly lower than where the stalk attaches is a technique I commonly use and makes for an attractive belly button.

I hope this helps.

Hi there-

There is no doubt that the appearance of the belly button can make or break a tummy tuck outcome, and that this is one way of separating an average tummy tuck surgeon from a truly skilled and talented one.

Ask to see lots of photos of each surgeon's work, with a focus on this critical detail.

It is possible to get a hooded belly button. It depends on the technique that a surgeon develops over years of experience. Believe me, I had my share of average looking or ugly "target" looking belly buttons. In the last few years, I developed my technique, looking and studying hundreds of belly buttons. My preferred approach is an upside down "V" and I take a pie shaped wedge out of the lower belly button and introduce the upper part of the V into this opening. This breaks up the circular scar that you so often see on many surgeons' web sites.

The best way to create this "hooded" type of umbilicus (belly button) is to create the "neoumbilical" opening slightly below (inferior to) the umblical stalk location after abdominoplasty flap advancement, and to bevel the peri-umbilical incision during flap development from distal superior to proximal inferior.  Some examples of this type of belly button should be in the gallery on our website.

There are several techniques for forming a youthful belly button; however, all techniques are dependent on the surgeon using them, and your individual body. It is more important to find a good plastic surgeon who can adapt their technique to your needs, than it is to find a good technique. Discuss your ideal belly button with your plastic surgeon, and see what they have to offer. Take a look at their before and after pictures, and see if you can find a result that meets your expectations.

A full abdominoplasty requires the surgical creation of a new belly button. Creating the new belly button, which is called an umbilicoplasty, is a part of tummy tuck surgery that requires a great deal of attention and finesse on the part of the surgeon. My goal is to create a new belly button that, as much as possible, resembles a 'natural' belly button. Natural belly buttons do NOT look like a perfect circle, and circular umbilicoplasty scars are a tummy tuck dead giveaway.

The technique I use for umbilicoplasty is designed to create a slightly 'hooded' appearance to the upper half of the belly button, an appearance that is generally considered fit and athletic. Not all patients have the goal of wearing a two-piece swimsuit, but many do, and I want these patients to be able to do so without feeling self-conscious about the appearance of their new belly button.

The shape and location of the belly button of a tummy tuck is a key component of its final aesthetic appearance. Round or mushroom-shaped belly buttons are very unattractive. Getting a hooded belly button shape is done by how the it is inserted into its new position in the overlying abdominal skin. Plastic surgeons use different patterns of skin insertions and umbilical stalk shortening to try and achieve it. In most patients that belly button look is achieveable but it may not be possible for everyone based on the thickness and quality of their abdominal skin.

The belly button is very important to tummy tuck and can make or break a good result. Check out examples of what your surgeon has done. There are several ways to inset the belly button and some can produce a more transverse and hooded appearance. The scar should be along the edge so it is not easily visible. Part of the compromise is that the skin in the upper abdomen is thicker than the natural skin which might surround the belly button (where the 'new' belly button will be inset) and this can prevent a natural hood or fold. The belly button deserves discussion with your surgeon.
Best of luck, peterejohnsonmd.com

Thank you for the question.

The appearance of the belly button  is very important to patients undergoing tummy tuck surgery. It is the only scar of the tummy tuck procedure that will be visible in undergarments and bikini.  For example, a belly button that is too large or circular is a potential tell tale sign of the patient who has had a tummy tuck surgery.

Although most plastic surgeons will not promise a specific appearance of the bellybutton after tummy tuck surgery,  most will endeavor to make the appearance as “natural” as possible.

Discriminating patients will ask to see examples of plastic surgeons'  “belly button results”.

I hope this helps.