Tummy Tuck: Prices, Photos, Reviews, Info, Q&A

Tummy tuck and belly button hernia repair

Umbilical hernias are commonly identified and repaired during a tummy tuck. Most moms have some sort of weakness of their abdominal wall from pregnancy.

This is the reason you have lower tummy bulging and is simply a spreading of your abdominal muscles,called rectus diastasis.

This is not a true hernia, BUT if you also have weakening in the abdominal wall at your belly button and feel some fat poking through, then this is a true hernia.

The best way to understand why all this happens is to imagine our body as a tube. With pregnancies, we need to expand the tube to accommodate the baby.

Tummy tuck with umbilical hernia repair photo

Our body allows this by spreading the ab muscles apart to increase the circumference of the waist. After the baby is delivered, there are not enough elastic fibers to rebound back to our pre-pregnancy shape, and so the muscles are left in a widened position, and the stretched area is significantly weaker and prone to hernia.

This results in lower tummy bulging, and a slightly bigger waistline even if you return to your pre-pregnancy weight. A tummy tuck surgery will accomplish several things – removal of the extra skin and fatty tissue below your belly button, and repair of your ab muscles.

This is done by suturing them together in the midline which will narrow your waistline, and flatten your tummy. If there is a small hernia at the belly button, it will be repaired at the same time. The scar should be low, underneath your underwear line so that it is not visible in a bikini or underwear. (Kyle Song, MD, )

Hernia repair with tummy tuck

Tummy tuck surgery with umbilical hernia repair

It is not uncommon to discover an umbilical hernia while performing a tummy tuck. They can be repaired during the tummy tuck procedure easily and are quite common. However, if the umbilical hernia is large and the primary issue, you should consider repair of the hernia first especially if it is quite large. Consult a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who can advise you on the best way to proceed for the best results. (Christopher J. Morea, MD, Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon)

Tummy tuck and belly button hernia

Generally speaking, you can have a small umbilical hernia repaired. If it is larger and needs something like mesh, it may be best to separate the procedures so as not to impair the blood flow to the belly button. (Samer W. Cabbabe, MD, FACS, Saint Louis Plastic Surgeon)

I have an umbilical hernia that needs to be repaired. Can u do a tummy tuck as well?

Tummy tuck with umbilical hernia repair surgery

Many patients have umbilical hernia repair at the time of tummy tuck.

Umbilical hernia and tummy tuck

Correction of an umbilical hernia at the same time as a tummy tuck is quite common. The rectus plication (tightening of the abdominal muscles) typically corrects most small umbilical hernias and is just part of the procedure.

If there is a very large or significant hernia in which your bowel tissue is actually completely herniated into the subcutaneous space, then it may be more of an ordeal. It can still be repaired at the time of the tummy tuck. But you would need to make sure that your surgeon is comfortable taking care this problem. (William T. Stoeckel, MD, Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon)

Umbilical hernia

Tummy tuck with umbilical hernia repair belly button

When present, these are commonly repaired at the time of tummy tuck. However, it may change the way the procedure is carried out, since we usually leave the navel attached to the abdominal wall.

With hernia repair, the blood supply to the navel can be compromised, so variation in technique may be needed. A visit to a plastic surgeon will be the better way to find out what will best meet your goals. (Jourdan Gottlieb, MD, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)