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 Hello, I had a tummy tuck approximately six years ago. Over the past six months I consistently have a discharge from my belly button (it happened on and off before, now the problem is consistent). The discharge has a putrid odor and out of curiosity I smeared a agar dish with the fluid and watched bacteria grow quickly (without heat I may add). What could be happening? Please help.
Answer from Dr. Alan Engler
www.bodysculpture.com
Hi Stephane,
Six years is a long time to now be developing a problem, but it needs to be ruled out. The only thing I can think of is that several types of permanent sutures are sometimes used during tummy tucks. These are typically used to tighten the fascia in the midline (repairing the diastasis, or the separation of the muscles that typically occurs with time, after pregnancies, etc).
So you need to see a plastic surgeon who can help you decide if the area needs to be explored. You may also need to see a general surgeon, since the umbilicus is closely attached to the abdominal cavity, and it could be related to that.
If it's from the plastic surgery, you may need to have several areas opened and any sutures that can be identified removed. Removing the foreign body - the suture material - typically stop this process, but that assumes you can identify and remove all of the responsible material, and that can be trickier to do that you'd expect. It doesn't show up on x-rays or other tests, it's not radio-opaque, etc., so it's a little bit of a treasure hunt...not very satisfying when you're trying to address a problem like this.
But I think that's what you need to do: see a plastic surgeon (the one who did your TT, if possible, is the place to start) and, most likely, a general surgeon. Between the two of them, they should be able to agree on who will start the process of trying to figure out what is responsible for this drainage you're having.
