Abdominoplasty Gallery

A mother of 3 in her mid 30’s who is bothered by the appearance of her abdomen as well as “muffin tops” fullness in her hips.  She is shown before and again, just 6 weeks after abdominoplasty combined with power assisted liposuction of her hips.  Close inspection of her preoperative photo will show that her umbilicus ( belly button) is deviated to her right.  At the time of surgery I used a “plumb line” suture to guide the plication of her loose muscle wall to bring it back to the midline.  Scars are typically at their worst at 6 weeks and there is also swelling in the abdomen and flanks.  The swelling generally resolves by 6 months and the scar continues to fade and improve for 2 years.  She is already thrilled with her improvement and loves being able to grab something from her closet and not worry about whether or not it will hide the bulging of her abdomen that she had after her three pregnancies. She had a breast reduction with us at the age of 18, and it has held up well through her pregnancies.  Tattoos have been blurred for her privacy

A nurse in her mid 50’s and mother of 4, including twins, who is bothered by bulging and looseness of the abdomen after pregnancy.  She had a breast reduction with us 15 years  before.  She is shown before and again, 8 ½ months after an extended abdominoplasty.  She had a history of a primary relative with an unexplained blood clot so she was treated in the postoperative period with Lovenox per the University of Michigan protocol, and had an uneventful postoperative course

There is a small vertical scar in the lower abdomen from the original opening around her umbilicus/ this allowed us to place her main horizontal scar in a “thong” position where it is low enough to be hidden by her clothing.

A mother of 1 in her early 40’s who is bothered by bulging of her abdomen. Although she is not significantly overweight at a BMI of 28, she has excess fat in the abdominal area. She is 4’(“ and 129lbs and is shown before and again, just 6 weeks after an extended lipoabdominplasty with the removal of 2 liters of fat and 1440 grams of skin from her lower abdomen. Scars are typically at their worst at 6 weeks and then will fade and improve over the next 2 years. There is significant swelling still at 6 weeks that typically takes 6 months to resolve. She is already thrilled with her early result and at 6 weeks is eager to resume her zoomba classes!

A nurse and mother of 2 in her early 40’s who had a gastric bypass and lost 126 lbs. She is shown 13 months after mastopexy/brachioplasty and 5 months after Fleur de Lis abdominoplasty with the creation of a new umbilicus. She is thrilled with her new contour. Scars will typically continue to fade and improve for 3 years. A fleur-de-lis abdominoplasty trades a vertical scar for additional tightening of the upper abdomen in a vertical direction.

An early follow-up on A mother of 2 in her mid 30’s who has had 6 pregnancies and 4 miscarriages. She is troubled by the wrinkled appearance of her abdominal skin as well as bulging of the abdomen which makes it difficult for her to wear fitted clothes. She mentions that each time that she looks at her abdomen, it reminds her of the many miscarriages.
She is shown before and again, just 7 weeks after abdominoplasty. It is important to place the scar in a low, “thong” position even if it means closing the umbilical aperture as a small vertical slit in the lower abdomen. Scars typically get thicker for 6 weeks and then begin to fade and improve over the next 2 years. Swelling, especially in the lower abdomen takes 6 months to resolve after surgery.
Already she is thrilled with her early result. She shared with me that she finally had the confidence to apply for a job that she wanted and got it!

An early follow-up on a Fleur de Lis abdominoplasty in a man in his early 40’s who has lost 80 lbs with a keto diet. He has a large hernia of his umbilicus which was corrected at the same time by his general surgeon. A new umbilicus ( neoumbilicus) was created at the time of his surgery. “Fleur de Lis” refers to the pattern of skin excision which includes a vertical component. Many patients with significant weight loss have a horizontal excess of the upper abdomen which requires a vertical excision to tighten it. A vertical scar is the tradeoff. Our patient is shown before and again, just 2 months after his surgery. Scars are typically the thickest and reddest at 6 weeks after surgery and then will fade and improve over the next 2 years. Swelling of the abdomen also takes 6 months to fully resolve after an abdominoplasty. A dramatic early improvement is seen.

Update: A 9 month fu showns resolution of swelling and a dramatic improvement despite the gain of 5 lbs since surgery. Scar continues to fade and improve. And the new umbilicus that we created looks natural.

A mother of twins in her early 40’s who is bothered by the rolls of skin, bulging of the abdomen in fitted clothing and looseness of the skin. Sh is 5’4” and 140 lbs and is shown before and again, 6 months after an extended abdominoplasty. An extended abdominoplasty extends the incision along the sides when needed and gives better tightening of the anterior flanks. The scar is hidden in a “thong” position where it can be covered by most clothing styles. A hollow has been sculpted around the umbilicus and a “champagne groove” above the umbilicus to give the abdomen a more attractive shape. Tattoos have been blurred for her privacy.

A mother of 4 in her later 40’s who is bothered by bulging and laxity of her stomach in clothing and in a two-piece bathing suit. She is shown before and again, nearly 6 months after an abdominoplasty. EXPAREL was used to limit her pain and need for narcotics after surgery.
Her case illustrates the importance of proper scar placement, putting the scar in a “thong” position even if it means a vertical slit scar is needed in the lower abdomen from the opening that is made around the umbilicus as the skin is pulled down. The alternative would be to put the entire scar higher where it would be visible on the abdomen. Scars typically become redder and thicker for 6 weeks and then begin to fade and improve over the next 2 years or longer. At nearly 6 months the scar still has some redness but is improving with topical silicone.

An RN mother of 4 in her later 50’S who was bothered by a roll of her abdomen in clothes as well as in a one-piece bathing suit. She was 5’2 and 166 lbs, In addition to bulging of the muscle wall from pregnancy she fatty layer was thicker as well with a caliper pinch of 5 cm ( 3 cm or less is ideal). She elected for a lipo-abdominoplasty which combined liposuction with and a abdominoplasty. She is shown before and again, 6 ½ years after the removal of 1850 cc of fat with liposuction and the excision of skin and fat weighing 1488 grams ( 3 1/3 lbs). She actually feels comfortable wearing a 2-piece bathing suit now! Scars typically get redder and thicker for 6 weeks and then fade and improve over the next 2-3 years. A close-up of her scar is shown at 6 ½ years.