Nothing actually.

I am writing this blog because a lot of people think that if they have a tummy tuck they get a ‘new’ belly button. You don’t. You get to keep the one you’ve always had.

When we do a tummy tuck we make an incision that sits low like a C-section and goes from hip to hip. We go down thru the fatty layer until we hit your muscles. That’s all the deeper we go. We then work up to the belly button and lift the skin/fat layer off of the muscle.

When we get to the belly button we come back to the skin surface and make a circular incision around it. We core straight down around it, like an apple corer would do. All that your belly button is, is a stalk of scar tissue. So, we isolate it and continue to undermine the skin/fat layer. Then we remove the skin from belly button down and the remaining skin pulls down like a window shade.

At this point your tummy tuck incision is closed but your belly button is buried. So, we make a new circular incision, remove a plug of skin/fat and Voila, your belly button pops thru like that button on your turkey when it’s done!

So in the end your belly button is the same one you’ve always had, but the skin around it is new.

Lee Corbett, MD

www.CorbettCosmeticSurgery.com

All posts on this blog are presented by Louisville Tummy Tuck surgeon, Dr. Lee Corbett.