January 05, 2016 | 2 minute read
Tummy tucks are still the gold standard operation to reshape the abdomen. But they come at a price, with respect to exchanging the improved tummy shape with a scar. All plastic surgery to an extent is compromise – getting from A to B, but having to accept some sort of drawback – be it a scar, some numbness (normally temporary) or other factor.
Tummy tuck scars are designed to be as low as possible, so they can be concealed by underwear or bikinis – but they do tend to go from hip to hip. There is also a scar around the belly button. This invariably is the most visible scar, so getting the belly button scar right is crucial. The best scar is one that is drawn in, so it is hardly visible. In my opinion, the worst sorts of scars are big round circles around the belly button, that are hard to hide and draw the eye to their unnatural shape.
In some people, it is not possible to remove all the skin between the planned low scar and the belly button, so occasionally a small vertical scar has to be accepted above the main scar. This is usually a compromise people are happy to make – as most view the improvement in shape of the abdomen being definitely worth it!
The patient below has had a tummy tuck as well as a breast augmentation and a correction of an inverted nipple on the left breast