Can I wear a bikini 1 year after tummy tuck?

1.  You should be able to wear a bikini within a couple of months of your procedure.  But bring your swimsuit in to your surgeon.   If you wear a low bikini you will want a low flatter incision. If you wear a high-thigh cut one piece, you may want it to curve up higher.

2.  The belly button is the tell-tale sign of a bad tummy tuck.  Make sure your surgeon spends extra time in this area to sculpt out the fat and tack down the skin to create a very pleasing "brazilian" navel not a "hole on a board".

3.  Make sure your surgeon has a lot of patient pictures to show you exactly where the incsion will lie and what it will look like.

4.  Make sure your surgeon has all the tools to heal as quickly and as well as possible: little tension on closure, avoiding infection, and healing creams available.

5. Avoid sun exposure for a year.  This doesn't mean you can't go to the beach, just cover the specific areas.

Yes, you should be able to wear a bikini after a tummy tuck. You may want to bring your bikini to your surgeon on the day of your procedure so your surgeon can try to place the tummy tuck incision where it would be hidden under your bikini.

The placement of the tummy tuck scar is placed as low as possible.  Where it ends up, however, depends on your anatomy.  Almost everybody can find a bikini that will cover the scar.  It might not be the super low bikini, but you should be able to show off your new flat abdomen on the beach!

This is a great question and a lot of patients tell me that they won't plan on wearing bikinis in the future. My response to this is that I want them to feel comfortable wearing one if they want to. There are two key factors that can provide this confidence: a low transverse scar and a hidden belly button scar.
Many belly button scars are externalized and obvious. I always try to create a nice contour around the belly button and hide the scar within that depression.
The low transverse scar is typically below the underwear line. Tiny bikini bottoms may not be practical but if you get a band that is wide enough it should provide the coverage you need.

Hope this answers your questions.

Hi there,
Yes, it is true that the main tummy tuck scars can usually get hidden under your underpants or bikini brief. 
In general, your surgeon should always endeavour to keep your scar as low as possible for that purpose, however it always depends on individual patient anatomy, the magnitude of the tissue resection required to achieve your desired aesthetic result, as well as the style of underpants or bikini that you like. 
Hope that helps.
Best wishes
Ellis Choy

The incision for a tummy tuck is placed so that the scar sits lower on the abdomen, and with most clothing should be covered.  However, this will depend on how you wear a garment and the type of garment.

My goal is to place the incision so that you can wear any low cut piece of clothing that you want. This includes low cut panties or bikini bottoms. Unless you are naked, no one is going to see your scar. I close the incision in multiple layers to take the tension off the top layer of the skin. This allows you to make the thinnest scar possible. You also want to look at your surgeon's scars around the belly button. I try to hide this as much as possible to give you a natural looking belly button. Good luck!

Tummy tuck or abdominoplasty incisions should generally be
set fairly low on the abdomen so patients can wear low cut jeans or bikinis and
still cover the scar. The position of the final scar can vary from patient to
patient depending on the patient’s anatomy and the surgeon’s technique.
Personally, with my patients, I always try to keep the scar at the upper border
of where the pubic hair would normally be so that they can wear low cut bikinis
and certainly, I would expect all my patients to be able to wear a bikini
within three months after surgery. Wearing a bikini after one year would be a very
realistic expectation. Patients should ensure that when they are going out in
the sun they protect the scar from sunlight for the first year to minimize the
darkening of the scar.

Yes, the scars can definitely be placed within your bikini line. Now then, a string bikini may be asking a little much because the bikini can move around with movement. But, if this is a concern of yours, you should bring your bikini with you to your consultation. Another stretch may be a lower hip riding bikini.I hope this helps.- Dr. Bryson Richards

Yes, it is true. I have my
patients bring whatever garment they would like to wear afterwards to surgery
with them. I will mark it to try and
keep the scar below the top of the garment. Unfortunately we cannot promise
that the scar will be hidden, but at least we can try. Wearing bikini 1 year
later should be possible.

One of major goals of a tummy tuck is not that you only look good in clothes but also in a bathing suit.  It is critical that the scar be placed low across the abdomen so that it can be easily hidden in under garments as well as a bikini.  This requires your doctor to carefully mark you at the time of surgery and take your anatomy into consideration when planning the surgery.  Unfortunately if it is not done correctly you can never bring the scar down and it will always remain visible.  Depending on the type of tummy tuck, the scars run along
the bikini line and up to the sides of pelvis area. It is crucial for prospective
patients to understand scar healing as it entails many phases. Immediately
after surgery, the body attempts to heal itself by increasing circulation,
forming serum and blood that creates a plug that pulls the edges together
forming a scab over the wound. The scar often looks thin as your body hasn’t
formed scar tissue yet. The wound may be sore and red due to the extra
blood and dilated veins and capillaries. In the next weeks and months, the scar
will appear as though it is worsening, yet it is simply the vessels and
collagen continuing to repair themselves. The scar will often thicken, get
redder and be more painful. That is normal. Six months to 2 years
the scar will mature, and the scar will get lighter and flatter. Now the main
issue is how to get a nice scar….80% is how well you surgeon closes and the
rest is your biology. I am not a huge believer of scar creams, etc.
I hope this information has helped you understand tummy tuck scars.