American Society of Plastic Surgeons
For Medical Professionals
 
blancalicia
4 years ago
Answered

7weeks post op

I am 7 weeks post op and I have concerns about still having lose skin. It is much better but still hangs. Someone please let me know if the pictures below are normal and it’s to early in my recovery to state my concerns to my surgeon? 2 pictures are from underneath the other 2 are at side angles. My 48, 5’5” 170pds Please help.

Procedure: Tummy Tuck
Location: navasota, TX

Replies 5

Dennis Hurwitz
ASPS Surgeon
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You do appear to have some loose skin. You also have very poor quality skin with considerable stretch marks (Strea). You surgeon may have closed you as tight as possible but was left with poor skin quality. Of course return to you surgeon to discuss. Further skin removal at a later time may be advisable.

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Steven Wallach
ASPS Surgeon
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You look like a patient that has lost a lot of weight, and their skin quality is very poor due to being overstretches from a lot of weight gain and then subsequent weight loss. It is very common for patients with this type of skin to have some rebound laxity. Review your concerns with your surgeon. Best of luck.

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Samir Shureih

Based on the pictures posted with very limited medical and surgical history, there is significant laxity of the abdominal skin in both the vertical and horizontal planes. One needs a complete history of what who has done the abdominoplasty. Seen this from a commercial liposuction outfit with what they call EXCISION, which is really an amputation of the lower abdominal skin.

There is a mark in the right upper abdomen that looks like an open gall bladder surgery and that could have been the limiting factor for the plastic surgeon.

Having a vertical and horizontal skin laxity and poor quality skin and based on your expectations the ideal approach is a fleur de lis type of abdominoplasty . Need to see the mons pubis to tell what can be done to lift the mons.

If your surgeon is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon discuss your concerns. The easiest is to re-do the excision and leave the horizontal laxity that will give a minor improvement.

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Elliot Duboys
ASPS Surgeon

You don't state what procedure you had done. Abdominoplasty vs Liposuction. Can I assume, because I don't see a scar that you had liposuction and not an abdominoplasty? If that is the case, liposuction does not remove hanging skin in someone who has poor skin quality. Liposuction removes the "stuffing" but not the envelope. As such, when one does liposuction without skin resection, you will be left with hanging skin. My recommendation would be to consult a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon to see what is best recommended to address your concerns.

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Nelson Castillo

Thank you for sharing your question and photographs. I see your area of concern and it does appear that you have some excess skin present. Without before images to compare to the only comment can be that with the extent of stretch marks present it will be difficult to ever have very tight skin, although continued, incremental removal can be done to further refine your results. I do not think it is too early to discuss your concerns with your surgeon.

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