The umbilicus is not left alone in a full abdominoplasty. The skin around it is removed, so the belly button is cut free, kept on its stalk of tissue, and brought out through a new opening once the skin has been drawn down. It keeps its own blood supply and it is your own belly button — but it will look different, and it has a small scar of its own.
Patients are rarely told this clearly beforehand, and it is one of the more common sources of surprise afterwards.
What happens to it
- A small incision is made around the umbilicus, freeing it from the surrounding skin.
- It stays attached to the abdominal wall on its stalk, so its blood supply is preserved.
- The abdominal skin is lifted, the wall tightened if needed, and the skin drawn downward.
- A new opening is made in the redraped skin at the correct height, and the umbilicus is brought out and sutured in.
Its position on your abdomen is therefore set by where the opening is made, which is a judgement about proportion rather than a fixed measurement.
What it will look like
| What patients notice | Why |
|---|---|
| A fine scar around the rim | The join between your umbilicus and the new opening |
| A different shape — often narrower or more oval | It is inset into new skin under different tension |
| Deeper set than before | The surrounding skin is flatter and tighter |
| Slightly off-centre | Few abdomens are perfectly symmetrical to begin with |
| Numbness around it | Nerves to the lower abdominal skin are interrupted; improves over months |
After major weight loss
A long-stretched umbilicus is often elongated, tethered low, or has a small hernia at its base. All three are dealt with at the operation: the stalk can be shortened, a hernia repaired, and the shape refined as it is inset. Where there is a hernia, that is a separate repair with its own item — abdominoplasty combined with hernia repair.
In a fleur-de-lis abdominoplasty, the vertical midline scar passes beside the umbilicus, so the scar around it joins that line.
Complications specific to it
- Partial loss. Uncommon, and more likely where blood supply is compromised — which is why nicotine matters so much. Dr Kumar requires complete abstinence from all nicotine for eight weeks before and after body contouring after weight loss.
- Widening or stretching of the opening over the first year.
- Tethering, where it sits too deep and pulls.
- A thickened rim scar, which can be revised after twelve months if it troubles you.
Care in the first weeks
It is the one part of the wound that sits in a recess, so it stays moist. Dr Kumar’s nurses will show you how to keep it clean and dry, and will check it at each review. Do not pack it or apply anything to it unless you have been told to. Redness, discharge or an odour is a reason to call rather than wait — 1300 267 726.
Common questions
Is it still my belly button? Yes. It is your own, repositioned, not reconstructed — except in a panniculectomy or where it cannot be preserved, when a new one may be created.
Will the scar around it show? It sits at the rim, in a recess, and fades well in most patients.
Can its shape be chosen? Shape is influenced by how it is inset, but it is your own tissue and there are limits.
Can it be fixed if I do not like it? Revision is possible after about twelve months, once everything has settled. Scar revision.
Does a mini tummy tuck move it? No — that is one of the differences. Mini tummy tuck.
Next step
Ask to see where yours will sit at your consultation — it is marked on you along with the main incision. Bring a GP referral; it is required to see Dr Kumar. He consults at Westmead, Penrith and Orange. Call 1300 267 726. More about abdominoplasty and recovery.
The initial consultation with Dr Kumar is $400, with a Medicare rebate of approximately $88 where you have a GP referral. Surgical fees are quoted individually after your consultation, in a written itemised quote.
All surgery carries risks, and individual results will vary. Read more about the risks of surgery here. A GP referral is required to see Dr Kumar.
Dr Rohit Kumar (MED0001630444) Registered medical practitioner, specialist plastic surgeon (specialist registration in surgery – plastic surgery).
