Abdominoplasty/Massive Weight Loss – Patient 163

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.