Umbilicoplasty

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in umbilicoplasty surgery. (technicaIly umbilical scar revision after a tummy tuck) I just recently had a tummy tuck 6 weeks ago and my belly button is off to the left a little… I want to correct this but I wasn’t sure how long to wait? And if this is something you can do?

A: If you have had a fully tummy tuck and your belly button is off midline, it can be moved back closer to the midline through an umbilicoplasty procedure. But there may or or may not be a residual scar out of the ring of the belly button scar based on how far it needs to me moved over. I would need to see pictures of your abdomen to better answer your question. Most likely when you say a little I would imagine it is probably no more than 1 to 1.5 cms at most. It is possible that just excising a crescent of skin towards the midline on one side of the bellybutton may be the type of umbilicoplasty (umbilical scar revision) that you would need. I would certainly vote for that approach even if it can’t be gotten completely to the midline because to will keep the scar confined to the circumferential existing scar around the belly button.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana