Highlighting Umbilicoplasty

OP. DR. YUNUS DOĞAN

Cute as a (belly) button

Having a hard time juggling your mamelon? When you had your tummy tuck in Istanbul, did your surgeon properly adjust your umbilicus? Are you finished having children and you’re ready to get your pre-baby body back?

Let us give you a little context that might enable you to answer the above questions. Your mamelon has nothing to do with your breasts, if that’s where your mind went. A mamelon navel is the clinical term for a protruding or convex belly button. Although rare - only about 10% of us have an outie - and possibly intriguing, some people prefer an innie.

Does “umbilicus” remind you of anything else belly-related? It should, since it literally means navel, middle and center in Latin. When our umbilical cords are cut, we are left with an umbilicus.

Sometimes the growing pains aren’t just felt by the children. One of the amazing things about the human body is its ability to expand to accommodate bringing new life into the world! If only it could retract exactly back to its original size. While skin and muscles are able to shrink after the offspring has been sprung, sometimes the mothership needs a little medical intervention.

So do you want a new and improved belly button sewn on or what?

This article is the eighteenth in a series highlighting some of the most popular plastic surgery procedures. In the Highlighting series, we tell you ALL the alternative names of the surgery so you learn the medical terminology as well as develop a little street cred with slang terms. We share a little history of the procedure and describe the general process. We mention possible complications and give you an idea of the typical recovery time.

Also known as/similar or related names are: Belly button surgery, concave navel, convex navel, mamelon, neoumbilicoplasty, umbilicoplasty, umbilicus.

First recorded

Dr. William M. McMillan performed the first belly button-specific procedure in 1955. A result of the removal of an umbilical hernia, this belly button reconstruction is also known as neoumbilicoplasty. If you’re into historical documents, this is what he published.

Since then, patients have also requested surgery to alter or improve their existing belly buttons for cosmetic purposes after pregnancy, abdominal plastic surgery (like a tummy tuck,) or the removal of navel piercings. Some patients want to reverse their convex navels and make them concave. In other words, they want to turn their “outies” into “innies.”

General process

As healthline.com outlined, an umbilicoplasty can be performed as an outpatient procedure, either in your surgeon’s office or in an operating room. Per your surgical plan and personal preference, you will receive local or general anesthesia. Do you want to be awake for this?

After you’ve been made suitably senseless or you’ve properly passed out, your surgeon will trim away any excess skin around your navel. If your umbilicoplasty is part of a body contouring procedure such as a tummy tuck, your surgeon will also remove excess fat from around your belly button area. Have you added a little 360 liposuction to the To-Do List? If so, a cannula will be inserted into tiny incisions in your abdomen to suction out your subcutaneous fat.

Your surgeon may also make small incisions to redirect the angle of your navel and make it appear higher or lower than its original position. Some patients also request that their horizontal belly button be changed to a vertical one to give it an athletic appearance. This medical journal by Oxford Academic helps define an aesthetically pleasing navel if you want to know what everyone else thinks.

Your surgeon will most likely close with dissolvable stitches that will magically disappear into your body within 1-4 weeks.

What could go wrong?

Complications that may occur include:

• *Over or under-correction of the belly button, where the belly button appears too deep or shallow, respectively, according to the patient’s perspective.
• *Asymmetry of the belly button, where it doesn’t appear perfectly centered to the abdomen.
• *Infection, where you’ve been cut into in an unsterile environment or post-operative hygiene has not been adequately addressed.

*Do everything in your power to avoid these complications by researching and choosing a qualified and trusted surgeon.

What could go right?

Put on a midriff shirt and have a good belly laugh over:

• A tighter and more toned-looking navel.
• Losing the complexity of your convexity.
• Leaving your scars far behind.

Recovery time

If umbilicoplasty was your only plastic surgery procedure, you can expect to be capable of performing light daily activities and returning to work - depending on the manner of your job - within a week after the surgery. More strenuous activities should wait until you’re 2-3 weeks post-op.

Understand that you’ve combined umbilicoplasty with other procedures, you will need to follow the advice of the longest recovery time. Let your body properly heal from the most complicated procedure you endured.

The last stitch

When you see your belly button, how do you feel? Is it a source of pride or shame? Or maybe you’ve never really considered your navel at all. If that’s the case, find a mirror and lift up your shirt. At your very core, what do you see?