Belly button size and shape after a tummy tuck
The postoperative belly button looks large, unnaturally round and I doubt that it will shrink with time. Looking at your preoperative photos, you do have muscle laxity and I’m surprised that your plastic surgeon did not do a muscle plication.
All these I discuss with my patients during the initial consultation and the preoperative visit. I design the belly button on my patients differently to create a more natural look, hide the scars and not to look like someone applied a hole puncher to your belly button. You can see examples on my site at bellevueplasticsurgeons. (George Marosan, MD, Bellevue Plastic Surgeon)
Belly Button Size / Shape After Extended Tummy Tuck
Hard to tell if the bb will shrink, lets hope. As for MR, if you were told you would have it than I still do not understand why it was not done? (Darryl J. Blinski, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon)
Tummy tuck questions
The size of the belly button after a tummy tuck depends on how big of a hole the doctor cuts in the skin at the end of the surgery for the belly button to come back out through. Yours does look a little big but might shrink some over the next few months. I personally can’t imagine a person with your starting point, who had 3 kids, who didn’t need at least some muscle tightening. I would have done some for sure. (Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)
Belly button after Tummy Tuck
You appear to have had a great result from a tummy tuck. Yes belly buttons often look larger in the early post operative setting. This is often due to swelling. Allow everything to heal before analyzing things too much.
It is not uncommon for women not to need the abdominal wall plication (ab repair). It is up to the discretion of your surgeon and what he sees at surgery to decide whether you would benefit from one. Good luck I am sure you will look great. (Delio Ortegon, MD, San Antonio Plastic Surgeon)
TT plication
We get an interesting amount of questions about muscle plication on this forum. Your photos imply that you probably wound’t have benefitted much from plication although your history suggests that the muscles are probably separated. If your abdomen is full and tight in the resting position from being overweight then there is no real point to plicating.
It doesn’t improve your figure as much if you are full framed. Photos can be decieving so only on examination will your surgeon know. The belly button probably will need a revision where they make it a little bit smaller and that will help. Over time they reduce in size but not much. (Ricardo A. Meade, MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)