9 months post op my belly is not as flat at first it was. How is this? (Photo)

Dear Gentle920337,
I understand your concern. However, without a proper assessment, it would be difficult to determine what is wrong. It is best that you visit your plastic surgeon for further assessment or ask for a second opinion. Only after a thorough examination, you can get proper recommendations and advice.
Daniel Barrett, MDCertified, American Board of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Hello!
It is best to go back to the surgeon who performed the procedure so that they may examine you and explain what may have happened.
As always, an in-office consultation is required to really examine your abdomen and your own unique anatomy, as well as discuss any questions you may have.
Best,Dr. Tanovic

Thank you for your questions and photos. A tummy tuck will address excess skin & repair of the abdominal muscle. The abdominal wall can be weakened after pregnancy and (or) significant weight gain & loss. By repairing the muscle, not only does the appearance of your abdominal area improve, but your core strength as well. The repair of the muscle will cinch your waist like an inner corset. I would recommend following up with your surgeon to make sure that the muscle repair hasn't been compromised. Your expectations and health will dictate the best procedure(s) for you. Best of luck!

Dhaval Patel MD
Double Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

South Barrington
Oakbrook
Orland Park

You might have pulled apart your muscle repair. go back to your surgeon and see if the repair is still holding. Otherwise, you might have some food allergy issues that is causing your colon to swell.

I encourage you to return to your surgeon for an evaluation. There are a few reasons for the change in contour. If it is residual subcutaneous fat then liposuction may help. If the muscle repair failed then a revision would be needed for correction. If it is visceral/internal fat then weight loss should improve the result.

To make a quality assessment regarding the outcome of a plastic surgery procedure we generally need to see a complete set of proper Before and after pictures. If you don’t have your before, and after pictures and ask your surgeon to forward the pictures they took. The most common reason patients have bulging of their abdomen after this procedure is because of excess intra-abdominal or visceral fat. That may or may not be the case for you. Failure of the muscle tightening is fairly uncommon, but can also be an explanation.
There are four tissue variables that determine what the abdomen looks like. This is true whether someone has had surgery or not.
Before tissue variables are abdominal, scan, laxity, excess, subcutaneous, fat, muscle separation from previous pregnancy and excess of visceral or intra-abdominal fat.
I suggest you follow up with your provider and discuss your concerns with him or her. It would be very important to know if you’ve had even slight weight gain since your procedure. This can affect visceral fat they can have a big impact on what the results look like. Because excess visceral fat is the number one reason patients complain about bulging after a full tummy tuck. It is something to be aware of.
Consider taking baseline pictures and dropping a few pounds and see if that improves the outcome.
Even a few pounds can have a significant impact on individuals who do have issues with excess visceral fat.
Visceral fat issues are fairly straightforward and pretty easy to determine during an examination.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD

Hello, I would recommend a revision liposuction and tummy tuck to eliminate that excess skin from your lower abdomen and with liposuction to be able to give it more shape if you wish, I would like to help you achieve your results.