I Had a Tummy Tuck and the Muscles Stitched Back Together. Do the Muscles Grow Back Together?

Question

What if I had some sort of stomach surgery and the material used to stitch my abs back together is cut? Karen

Jeffrey E. Schreiber, MD, FACS · Answer

Most likely, the muscles will "scar" down together.  So, if for some reason the stitch holding them together is cut several years out they will most likely stay tight.

Neil J. Zemmel, MD, FACS · Answer

The purpose of the muscle plication is to repair the fascia the runs in between the two rectus muscles.  During pregnancy or after major weight loss, this fascia can become stretched out and no amount of exercise or muscle strengthening will repair it.  The suture used during the procedure is permanent, meaning it will not desolve, keeping the fascia tightly closed and bringing the rectus muscles closer together.  If you had another surgery, such as a hernia repair or laparoscopic procedure,  your surgeon would close the wounds appropriately as to not compromise the plication.  I hope this helps you.

	Kindest regards,

	Neil J. Zemmel

Jourdan Gottlieb, MD · Answer

The muscles that are addressed when the plastic surgeon tightens the abdominal wall are the rectus abdominis muscles which reach from the chest to the pelvis. They are two parallel muscles that are not actually joined, but run close to each other in the normal situation.
	
		Often, after pregnancy or weight gain followed by weight loss, these paired muscles are separated as the stretched abdominal wall does not always shrink back to its previous condition.
	
		During TT surgery, these muscles are "plicated," that is the tissue lining the muscle are sutured back closer together.  The muscle fibers of the right and left muscles are not actually touching one another. It is the lining tissue called fascia that heals together, not the actual muscle tissue. 
	
		If later abdominal surgery is done through the plication area, those tissues would be sutured back together again to restore the contour as it was before that abdominal surgery.


	Thanks for the question, best wishes.

I Had a Tummy Tuck and the Muscles Stitched Back Together. Do the Muscles Grow Back Together?

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I Had a Tummy Tuck and the Muscles Stitched Back Together. Do the Muscles Grow Back Together?

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