Significant changes can occur in a woman’s abdomen following pregnancy. These changes vary from patient to patient and may include redundant abdominal tissue, weakened abdominal muscles, and abdominal fat accumulation. When a tummy tuck c section is performed, this not only creates a scar, but can accentuate these deformities as well.
Tummy tuck c section scar can also vary from patient to patient. Variables such as location and the quality of the scar can have a significant impact on the post pregnancy aesthetics of the abdomen.
Your pictures suggest several problems that require correction. These include a wide depressed scar, fat accumulation in the lower abdomen, weakened abdominal muscles, and fat collections in the adjacent hips. All of these problems will need to be addressed to optimize your tummy tuck result.
It would be nice if your vertical scar could be removed and converted to a lower abdominal transverse scar by performing a traditional abdominoplasty. Unfortunately, you don’t have enough excess skin to make this possible.
Under these circumstances, your best option is most likely a vertical scar revision with resection of excess skin in the vertical dimension. Utilizing this approach, the underlying abdominal muscles can be tightened from side to side as well. Liposuction of the abdomen and hips would further accentuate your result.
The response to wound healing varies from patient to patient. Women with darker skin tones sometimes note more aggressive scarring. For this reason, your scar even after revision may still be unattractive.
It’s important to have realistic expectations, so make sure all of these issues have been thoroughly discussed with your plastic surgeon before proceeding with tummy tuck surgery. (Richard J. Bruneteau, MD, Omaha Plastic Surgeon)
A scar revision would really improve things. Probably not enough skin for a tummy tuck. Hard to know if lipo would help without an exam. (Christopher J. Davidson, MD, FACS, Wellesley Plastic Surgeon)
Tummy Tuck or Scar Revision for C Section Scar?
Without a physical examination this is hard to answer. If muscle laxity, stretch marks or loose skin bother you, I would recommend a tummy tuck. If skin laxity below the umbilicus bothers you only, a mini TT is the best choice. I find most patients after having kids prefer a full tummy tuck to address the lax skin, stretch marks and muscles. (Christian Prada, MD, FACS, Saint Louis Plastic Surgeon)
I do think your two vertical tummy tuck c section scars could be revised into one straight line closed in multiple layers. I would use this incision to offer muscle tightening/plication and liposuction of your abdomen and flanks.
I believe this would provide a restored contour to your abdomen and allow for significant scar improvement. (Paul S. Gill, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)
The only way to convert your vertical scar into a horizontal scar would be a transverse excision of skin (tummy tuck). My concern would be that you do not have enough laxity of skin to remove all of the vertical scar. You would then have a residual vertical scar AND a horizontal scar.
Your skin elasticity looks very good so you may benefit from liposuction and a conservative vertical scar revision to make the scar more narrow. There is no guarantee that your new scar will be better than the old one, but in most cases there is a significant improvement. (Matthew H. Steele, MD, Fort Worth Plastic Surgeon)
We recommend you a full abdominoplasty. The incision will be done horizontal on top of c – section. (Jhonny Salomon, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon)
I would like to echo some of the prior respondents and say that you look very nice. Your photo is helpful but in my opinion somewhat misleading in that when you took the photo, my guess is that your were holding in your abdomen. (Nobody who has a photo taken lets their belly hang out if they can help it.) The reason that I am saying this is that in order for you to trade out the vertical incision, you need enough laxity of the skin to remove the skin from your pubis to your belly button. The best approximation for this is that when you bend over at the waist and allow your abdomen to relax you then check to see if you can bring your belly button down to your pubis. If you can, you have enough laxity to remove the intervening skin. Your scar would be hip to hip, but could be low enough to hide in a swimsuit. (Stephen M. Chen, MD, Richmond Plastic Surgeon)
A High Tension Tummy Tuck would not only remove your entire tummy tuck C section scar but also your lower abdominal stretch marks. The scar of this type of tummy tuck is placed very low and can be hidden under the smallest bikinis!! (S. Sean Younai, MD, FACS, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)
However, you may not have enough loose skin for a full tummy tuck. It is hard to tell without having your flex your abdominal muscles, but you may benefit from a modfiied tummy tuck in which there is very little skin removed ( and in your case a scar revision) and instead most of the emphasis is on tightening your stomach muscles with a corset type suture.
This will strengthen and flatten your abdominal wall while tightening your skin a bit. (Ashkan Ghavami, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)
I think your abdomen appears to be in good shape and a scar revision would be in order with possibly some liposuction as an adjunct. (Paul Vitenas, Jr., MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)
Scar Revision from a C-section using a tummy tuck
A tummy tuck is used for removal of excess skin and fat. Typically, the most common patient undergoing this procedure is a woman who has had children or a massive weight loss patient. One of the perks to a tummy tuck is removal of unsightly scars. These may include a midline scar below the belly button, an appendectomy scar, stretch marks, or a C-section scar & The result will be a much improved contour, a tighter abdomen, and lack of a history of scars the patient possessed prior to the tummy tuck. (Joel B. Beck, MD, FACS, Bay Area Plastic Surgeon)