Can I pierce my belly button after a tummy tuck?

I fully agree with Dr. Placik. The Blood supply to the skin around the belly button stalk is not normal at only 6 weeks after surgery and in many women the blood supply of the belly button column itself is not as yet normal. ANY injury to either area may result in healing difficulty and or infection which may worsen and result in loss of a patch of the skin around the belly button or the belly button itself.

Giving the area 6-8 months to heal and reform its blood supply increases the margin of safety for such procedures.

The same holds for umbilical hernias. The hernia should have been fixed before or during your Tummy Tuck surgery. At this point, unless it bothers you or becomes a surgical emergency, I would give the tummy tuck time to heal before going in again.

The skin on your stomach is not quite normal yet, as the blood supply is still mostly coming from the sides (rather than from all directions).  If you get your belly button pierced and develop an infection, it could spread much faster / wider than you would normally think.  Infection / swelling interferes with blood flow, which make it easier for bacteria to take hold.  You are risking a serious infection (which rarely could be disastrous), so why not wait a while and take less risks?  As a side benefit, your scars will have already started to relax, and they can do a better job piercing your navel.

Dr.B