Can having a TT increase vaginal tightness due to pressure? (Photo)

Hello and thank you for your question...There are many factors that can make you urinate more frequently after a tummy tuck. During surgery, you likely received a lot of fluids and your body will be trying to get rid of a lot of the excess fluid. Also, if your surgeon is like me, then they would have encouraged you to drink a lot of fluids after surgery. These can lead to much more frequent urination. You are correct in that after a tummy tuck, if the muscles are tightened, this can increase the pressure in the entire abdomen. This can not only compress the bladder leading to increased frequency of low volume urination but can also cause your appetite to shrink as there is more compression on your stomach. Although, low on the list, you should also keep track to make sure you are not having any signs or symptoms of a urinary tract infection. These can include things like but not limited to frequency, urgency, burning, pain, fever etc....if you have these symptoms you should call your surgeon and let them know. As I said, this is low on the list because you likely were prescribed antibiotics after your surgery. I hope this helps ease your concerns and I wish you the best during your recovery!

It is well known that during Tummy Tuck the internal pressure will increase, the muscle repair will elevate a bit more, the flap closure another more, but the compression garment may aggravate that. But this increased of pressure is temporary and will improve over the months. Not using your garment may help a lot with the bladder issues. Be encouraged Dr. Cardenas  

Thank you for your question.During your procedure you are given a good amount of fluids through the IV. The compression garment is holding everything in and making less room for the abdomen to expand when the bladder is full. You will have increased urgency for the first couple days. Also, if they had to put a catheter in the bladder during surgery that can irritate the bladder and cause increased urgency. The tummy tuck does not have any effect on the vagina. Good luck with healing.

Interesting question.  The abdomen is tighter because of the abdominal wall tightening so the bladder is more compressed than before.  Its theoretically possible that the bladder is also then pushing on the vagina but its more likely that the bladder will just not fill as much as it used to.Good luck with the remainder of your recovery.Dr. Repta