AboutAlan M. Engler, MD, FACS Expertise Dr. Engler has answered over 2700 plastic surgery questions for Allexperts. His expertise is in cosmetic plastic surgery including breast surgery (breast enlargement with implants, breast reduction, breast lifts), liposuction, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks, facelifts etc.
Dr. Engler has been listed as one New York`s Top Doctors, and as "One of the World's Most Famous Aesthetic Surgeons" (Aesthetic Surgery, TASCHEN Books, Angelika Taschen, Editor). He is the author of 4 books, including "BodySculpture" (a best-selling plastic surgery book on breast surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks), "EyeScapes" (Plastic Surgery of the Eyelids), "Restylane," and "The Slim Book of Liposuction."
Dr. Engler has two US Patents for surgical instruments that he's designed, and has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Tyra Banks Show, The Ricki Lake Show (four times), and the Dr. Keith Ablow Show. Videos of his appearances are available on YouTube (SEARCH FOR "DR. ENGLER"). His website is www.bodysculpture.com.
Experience Dr. Alan Engler is a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York and the author of BodySculpture - Plastic Surgery of the Body for Men and Women (ISBN 0966382749) one of the top-selling plastic surgery books on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.
Education/Credentials Dr. Engler graduated from Yale University (undergraduate) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (medical school). He did his residency training in General Surgery and, after that, Plastic Surgery, at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Question I had a abdominoplasty about 11 months ago. I am still having a lot of
swelling in my stomach, especially above my bellybutton. It seems to get
worse depending on my activity level. Lately, however, it doesn't seem to
matter what I do. I can wake up and it will be swollen or I can wake up and it
will be pretty flat again but if I vacuum, exercise, or slouch while I sit it will
swell. It is always really swollen by bedtime no mater what I did that day.
Sometimes my stomach will be very hard. Is this normal this far out from
surgery? What could be causing it? Sometimes it can be very uncomfortable
and painful.
Answer from Dr. Alan Engler
www.bodysculpture.com
Hi Natalie,
I'm sorry that you're having this problem.
It can take a long time to heal after this procedure; sometimes up to two years. Most people heal faster than that, but it's not unheard of to have various symptoms even at 11 months post-op.
There are several possibly explanations for what's happening but the first thing to do is to try to establish whether this is intra-abdominal (ie, your stomach/intestines) or the flap itself (ie, the tissue including the skin and any fat left down to the abdominal wall). The fact that it's so hard suggests that it is intra-abdominal, and that, perhaps, you'll need to wait a little longer until the scar tissue that may have formed from the procedure has more time to soften, combined with the return to normal of the lymphatic drainage of the region, at which point things will hopefully settle down. To that end, you may want to try some exercises and massage to help stretch out and soften the region. If it's just the tissues superficial to the abdominal wall, then it should settle down even faster, since you're not being overly affected by the abdominal contents having to push up against relatively newly tightened tissues.
You should also just touch base with your internist, to see if an overall exam and, possibly, a CT Scan of the abdomen may be indicated. I don't really think so - I think this is just from the TT - but you'd have to include that for completeness.
Aside from that, though, I'm not sure what else to suggest. If it's any consolation, most of these things do tend to go away on their own - eventually.
Sorry about that, but I hope that this has helped.
