Could Vomiting After Tummy Tuck Cause Injury?

Hello Vickie Ruth, thank you for your question regarding the potential impact of vomiting after a tummy tuck.

Vomiting can put a significant amount of pressure on your abdominal muscles and the surgical area. At 8 weeks post-op, your body is still in the healing phase, and intense or prolonged vomiting could potentially cause some strain on the area that underwent surgery.

Feeling sore and experiencing a burning sensation could be due to the muscles being strained or the sutures being stressed. However, it is less likely that you have caused significant damage to the surgical repair itself, especially if you don't notice any visible changes such as a bulge, which might indicate a hernia or separation of the muscle repair.

It is important to monitor your symptoms closely. If the soreness and burning sensation persist or worsen, or if you notice any unusual swelling, bulging, or significant changes in your surgical site, you should consult your plastic surgeon immediately. They may recommend a physical examination and possibly imaging studies to ensure everything is intact.

In the meantime, try to rest and avoid activities that put additional strain on your abdominal area.

Good luck, and I hope you feel better soon. I hope this helps answer your question regarding vomiting after a tummy tuck.

Sincerely,

J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FASMBS, FICS

The tummy tuck muscle repair is generally set after 8 weeks and it is unlikely that you disrupted the sutures. However, it is possible and you may want to set up an appointment with your surgeon to evaluate your abdomen for possible breakdown of the repair. 

Hi there-
I'm sorry you were so sick. The risk that you injured yourself or compromised your tummy tuck result really depends on how far removed from the operation you were when the vomiting started.
The earlier in the recovery period, the higher the risk that your muscle repair had not become strong enough to support strong retching and that this caused your repair to fail.
After 6 weeks, however, the repair should be quite strong and the risk low, in which case the discomfort is probably related to stretching of the underlying scar tissue during the vomiting.
It should be fairly obvious whether or not your repair is intact, though... if you have disrupted the sutures, I would expect to see a round shape where you had previously been fairly flat.
In any case, the best person to advise you would be your surgeon, who has the benefit of knowing the details of your surgery, and can, after an examination, determine if you have experienced a change in contour.

Congratulations on having undergone the tummy tuck procedure.In general, it would take a significant amount of pressure to “tear" the muscle repair after tummy tuck surgery. This event would likely be associated with significant discomfort. A change in your physical examination, such as increased swelling, bleeding, a new onset "bulge" would also be likely.Generally speaking, abdominal wall muscle plication performed during tummy tuck surgery is quite secure; disruption is very unusual.Best wishes.

At 8 weeks you should be OK.  Vomiting certainly in the early post-op period could cause tears in the diastasis repair. Pain at 8 weeks is probably normal but I would follow up with your doctor.