Why is Waist Bigger After Tummy Tuck?

Question

I had a tummy tuch with muscle tightening, a lot of skin was removed and also a bit of fat. My waist is bigger then before, what is the reason for this?

Brent Moelleken, MD · Answer

As you can see from the responses below, anything from fat accumulation, to fluid accumulation that needs to be drained, swelling that might require compression, to surgical readjustment of tissues (particularly with body lift type procedures), to a surgical mishap.

	Seeing a few board certified plastic surgeons may be a reasonable option.

Amy T. Bandy, DO, FACS · Answer

If it is soon after your surgery, this could be due to swelling. If it is more than 6 weeks after surgery, it is possible that you have gained weight. Another possibility is if you had liposuction of multiple areas and not your waist, your waist may now look larger comparitively speaking. I recommend seeing your surgeon and discussing this concern.

Antoine A. Hallak, MD, FACS · Answer

It depends how long it is been since the tummy tuck was done and if liposuction was done at the same time or not. Soon after surgery it could be just swelling but if its been a few months then its tough to say without pictures or details of the surgery. A tummy tuck with abdominal muscle tightenig should narrow the waist eventually, but you may be talking about the flanks area which a lot of times has to be liposcutioned to avoid a wide appearance of the lower lateral abdomen.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD · Answer

IT is most likely swelling but it could be a hematoma or seroma., You will not be able to determine this and you should seek your surgeon's evaluation.

Michael Law, MD · Answer

You may still be in the healing process. As time goes by, hopefully your waist will be much smaller. If your plastic surgeon used an "internal corset" you should expect a smaller waistline. The permanent sutures that are used to flatten and tighten the abdominal wall are typically placed in the midline. The rectus abdominis muscles, prior to pregnancy, are lined up immediately side-by-side. Expansion of the abdominal wall during pregnancy allows the muscles to stretch apart, leaving a weak layer of fascia (connective tissue) spanning the gap between the two muscles – the medical term for which is diastasis. The midline tightening sutures correct the diastasis and bring the rectus muscles back into a 'side-by-side' configuration, flattening the abdominal wall in the process.

	Although this midline tightening dramatically enhances the abdominal profile, it often does adequately address the fact that pregnancy can also wreak havoc on the waist, turning what was formerly an 'hourglass' figure into something that is more cylindrical in shape. For several years now I have been using permanent 'internal corset' sutures, placed laterally in the abdominal wall, that draw the waist inward and restore some of the hourglass effect of abdominal concavity at the waistline in frontal view. The addition of these sutures to midline tightening, and in some cases in place of midline tightening, has allowed me to achieve even more impressive postoperative results.

Walter D. Gracia, MD · Answer

Without preop and postop pictures ,weight comparisons and waist measurements it is not possible to say if your claim is valid. If you have gained weight that would explain it, if it is right after and there is swelling that is a possibility. You need to discuss this with your surgeon.

Peter E. Johnson, MD · Answer

Without weight gain to explain the situation, it is difficult to understand how your waist could be bigger after a tummy tuck. Ordinarily, the muscle repair will narrow the waist, and fat removal or liposuction in the waist and flank will also address the area nicely. Ask your surgeon for a photo both before and after, and put a tape measure to the test. It is hard to imagine that you can't be better off after tummy tuck.
	Best of luck,
	peterejohnsonmd

Darryl J. Blinski, MD · Answer

Swelling if less than 3 months from surgery. Vs weight gain after 3 months from surgery. Seek a second opinion. From MIAMI DR. Darryl J. Blinski

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

If your surgery was recently, the waist may be larger because of swelling. If longer than a year, sometimes intraabdominal fat pushes out to the sides and causes the waist line to be larger.

Robin T.W. Yuan, MD · Answer

If you are still only a couple of weeks after your surgery, it is too early to judge your result. The other reason is that the waist is a cinched in part of the torso. If you had a extended tummy tuck with the scars going around to thre side, the tightening of the soft tissue tends to obliterate the cinched in area because the tightness creates a straightening of the torse p contour. Thus you can lose the hourglass appearance and have a straighter, hence greater circumference, waist line.

Why is Waist Bigger After Tummy Tuck?

Answers (13)