Huge Upper Belly After Tummy Tuck?

Often times during tummy tuck there is a reluctance to do liposuction to the upper abdomen. This is a necessary evil as doing liposuction to this area at the same time can often lead to decreased blood supply and wound breakdown especially when removing large volumes of fat like you had done. You also may have a significant component of fat inside your belly that will not respond to liposuction or a tummy tuck. It will respond to further weight loss.

Hello upsetnadia, thank you for your question regarding the changes in your upper belly after your tummy tuck. By examining your photos, you appear to have visceral fat. Visceral fat is fat that surrounds the internal organs in the abdominal cavity, and it is different from subcutaneous fat, which lies just under the skin. Visceral fat is often more challenging to remove through surgery and typically requires weight loss through diet and exercise.

Given your history of gastric band surgery and significant weight loss, it's essential to focus on losing more weight to address the visceral fat. Incorporating a balanced diet and regular exercise routine will be crucial in achieving this. Additionally, weight loss medications can be effective when combined with lifestyle changes. These medications can help suppress appetite, increase metabolism, or reduce the absorption of fat, thereby aiding in weight loss.

I recommend consulting with your healthcare provider to discuss the best weight loss plan tailored to your needs. They can provide guidance on suitable diet plans, exercise routines, and weight loss medications that can support your goals.

Good luck, and I hope my answer provides some clarity and direction for your concerns.

Sincerely,

J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FASMBS, FICS

Thank you for your question. Seven weeks after tummy tuck is not enough time to express a valid opinion. To reduce abdominal and belly button swelling, I recommend daily lymphatic drainage massage therapy 5 times at week for the next two months, and wear a postoperative girdle for two months at least.

Kind Regards, Dr. Emmanuel Mallol Cotes.-

Your abdominal contour can be explained by three things, or some combination thereof:
1. Persistent subcutaneous fat
2. Persistent muscular wall laxity
3. Intraabdominal fat
Your surgeon's ability to tighten the muscular wall and perform lipo may have been compromised by the presence of the lap band. Sometimes, relatively greater tightening of the lower abdominal muscles may make the upper abdomen appear proturberant by comparison.
Intrabdominal fat can only be addressed with weight loss.
If you are disappointed, discuss this with your surgeon who can tell you if additonal surgery can provide any additional benefit.
Good Luck!

It is possible that you still have subcutanous fat and intra-abdominal fat that is contributing to the huge upper abdomen.
Also the upper abdomen may not have been tightened strongly because of the lap band as your surgeon told you.
Your BMI now is 40.2 Your ideal situation is to drop to 150 lbs. Then re-assess the abdomenial fat, muscle strength and may need redo of the abdominoplasty.

From your data, on the day of surgery you weighed 220 pounds with a BMI of 40.24 (which still qualifies as Morbidly obese). Your IDEAL weight should be 110 pounds. For great results, you should have had a BMI under 30, preferably in the 23 to 27 range.
At this point, you will need to allow the healing process to continue and work on losing weight with good dietary habits without depriving yourself from proteins needed to bring about healing.
Liposuction of the upper abdomen may be done in the future to deflate the upper abdomen but would probably be accompanied by some skin sagging.
Ideally, If your weight comes close to the 110 range, you may develop skin sagging and another tummy Tuck procedure may have to be done at that time. That would get you the result you really wanted.
Dr. P. Aldea

With your weight and height, it seems as if you were not an ideal candidate for an abdominoplasty. If the panus is gone, and your muscles are tight, then the tummy tuck was successful, but you are too heavy and need to loose weight. The fat you are complaining about is probably inside your abdomen and it is never corrected with a tummy tuck -- only diet and weight loss can help.

At 5'2" and 220 lbs you were not a good candidate for a full tummy tuck. Maybe a lesser procedure called a paniculectomy was what you really had where the lower abdominal apron is cut off and the upper abdomen is left alone. After you lose another 80 pounds or so, you could have a full tummy tuck and get the upper abdomen tighter.