Everything You Need to Know about Surgically Rebuilt Belly Buttons
The world comprises two kinds of people: Those with innies and those with outies. Nobody can control the appearance of their belly button. You can grow your muscles through exercise and change your features with make-up and hairstyles. But no matter what, it’s impossible to change how your belly button looks.
However, an abdominoplasty surgery, which reshapes your midriff, also involves the creation of a new, surgically reconstructed belly button!
People can have many reasons to alter the shape of their belly button, ranging from health concerns to aesthetic preferences. How your belly button looks is decided by factors out of your control; belly button reconstruction surgery allows you to reclaim that control over your body’s appearance.
What Determines Belly Button Appearance?
Pregnancy woman
Genetics plays a significant role in determining the shape of your belly button. However, it’s not the only deciding factor. Going through massive fluctuations in body weight, either by gaining or losing kilos, can stretch and loosen the belly button. Sometimes, an umbilical hernia can cause soft tissue to poke through the abdominal wall, causing the navel to bulge outward.
Pregnant women might see their belly button shift position or change shape as their pregnancy progresses. Even childbirth can affect the belly button’s appearance. Difficult births can result in the tearing of the abdominal muscles, a condition known as diastasis recti. This condition changes the stomach’s appearance, often displacing the belly button.
Diastasis recti
People can opt for plastic surgery to change the shape of their navel. But the surgeon won’t be the first doctor wielding his tools over your belly button! In medical terminology, the navel is called the umbilicus. It’s the first scar everyone gets in their lifetimes, formed when the doctor or midwife cuts off the umbilical cord tethering the newborn to the mother. The way that cut is made at recovery time after birth leaves behind an umbilical stump.
Baby with umbilical cord clamped
The stump falls off within a few weeks, creating a vertical scar on your belly button. This is one more factor that determines the appearance of your belly button.
All of these factors are beyond our control. Yet, we have to find ways to live with them. Plastic surgery has the answers for people who wish to redesign their belly buttons.
Anatomy of a pregnancy
The Different Types of Belly Buttons
Most people know that belly buttons can be innies or outies. But there’s more to belly button diversity than just these two types. There are even some rare instances where people are born without belly buttons! This is usually due to a birth condition that affects the umbilical cord. Beyond the innie-outie binary, six different types of belly buttons are seen among the general population.
6 types of belly button shapes
The 6 Kinds of Belly Buttons
- Outie: Looks like a knot of skin protruding from the stomach
- Horizontal: It appears like a horizontal dent in the belly
- Vertical: A vertically oriented belly button, often asymmetrical from top to bottom
- Lightbulb: A vertically oriented belly button that is wider at the top than the bottom
- Oval/Rounded: These belly buttons are more circular
- Deep: A funnel-shaped belly button
Outies are commonly seen in younger children but recede into horizontal or vertical belly buttons with age. If a person is overweight, their belly button will appear deeper.
What is Belly Button Reconstruction Surgery?
Modern medical advancements allow people to get a new belly button by undergoing surgery. During the consultation, patients should communicate their aesthetic preferences for their new belly button to the surgeon.
There are three types of techniques of surgery through which surgeons can carry out a belly button reshaping operation:
- Umbilicoplasty
- Umbilical hernia repair
- Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck)
An umbilicoplasty (navel reconstruction) is a minor surgery that only requires reshaping the skin and tissue around the navel. This operation can be done under local anesthesia.
Umbilical hernia repair is performed when tissue like fat pokes through the abdominal wall, creating an outie belly button. Umbilical hernias are commonly seen in newborns and infants and usually heal on their own in the first two or three years of the child’s life. Even when they persist, they are harmless and painless for the most part. In very few cases, an umbilical hernia can lead to health problems and become extremely painful when parts of the small intestine protrude against the navel.
Finally, in abdominoplasties, also known as tummy tucks, plastic surgeons & specialist general surgeons often incorporate belly button rejuvenation as part of the perform the procedure.
This cosmetic surgery allows surgeons to give their patients the belly buttons they want.
Belly Button Aesthetics
Some are perfectly content with their belly button’s appearance; others wish they could change it. But what does the ideal belly button look like? And more importantly, what do natural belly buttons look like before any cosmetic surgery?
A 2010 study, titled “Aesthetically Pleasant Umbilicoplasty” and published in the Annals of Plastic Study journal, found that a vertically oriented, inward belly button was the most common among its surveyed sample. But despite most people having vertical belly buttons, an oval-shaped one was most desirable among the study’s subjects. The study’s authors also stated, “An oval-shaped umbilicus positioned at 2/3 of the distance from the pubis to the xiphisternum may lead to the most aesthetic results.”
Oval shaped belly button
While an oval or rounded navel may be most desirable according to widespread consensus, it’s not the rarest! That distinction goes to the outie-havers, who make up less than 10% of the population according to a research paper published in February 2018 titled “Umbilicus Types and Shapes.”
So there you have it. When it comes to brand-new belly buttons, an oval shape is what most people wish for. But let’s be realistic for a moment. Few people think it’s worth going under the knife for belly button surgery. Instead, it is much more common for patients to include belly button reshaping when undergoing a tummy tuck procedure (abdominoplasty surgery). The numbers support this, as data from Finder.com reported that abdominoplasties were the fourth-most popular cosmetic surgery among Australians, behind breast augmentations, eyelid surgery, and liposuction. For anyone considering switching up the aesthetics of their belly button, a tummy tuck surgery is a popular choice.
What Does an Abdominoplasty Do to Your Belly Button?
Abdominoplasty operation steps
In tummy tuck surgery (abdominoplasty), the surgeon makes an incision from hip to hip on the abdomen. They then remove excess fat and trim loose skin. In cases where the abdominal muscles have separated (after pregnancy, for example), the surgeon may also reposition the muscles and hold the connective tissue in place with sutures. At the end of the operation, the surgeon must create a neo-umbilicus. In layman’s terms, that means a brand-new navel.
Creating a natural-looking and aesthetically pleasing belly button is every cosmetic surgeon’s goal. But sometimes, a belly button reshaping can result in a visible scar that rings the navel’s circumference. A vertical button with an unnaturally narrow opening is another undesirable outcome of a belly button rejuvenation surgery, and this is referred to as umbilical stenosis. Ideally, the surgeon should be able to conceal the stitches within the belly button to preserve a natural appearance best.
Oval and rounded navels are the most commonly asked-for shapes after belly button reshaping.
Not every tummy tuck surgery ends up repositioning the belly button. Patients with less fat and loose skin and whose body weight has remained stable might need only a tiny incision that does not affect the belly button’s placement. These abdominoplasties are also called “mini tummy tuck” because they don’t make as extensive changes to the patient’s body as a full tummy tuck.
How Specialist Surgeons Rebuild Belly Buttons
When performing an abdominoplasty, surgeons need to reconstruct the navel. Patients should let their surgeons know what they would want their new belly button to look like after the surgery. That way, the doctor knows what they need to do when it’s time to reshape the navel.
Creating the neo-umbilicus comes after the surgeon has removed the excess skin and fat around the stomach. During this process, the position of the belly button changes. The methods of creating new navels during an abdominoplasty differ on finer points of technique but follow a similar series of overarching steps:
- Step 1: An incision is made around the belly button, leaving it attached to the abdominal wall
- Step 2: The surgeon removes any surrounding fat and tightens the skin
- Step 3: The umbilical stalk (base of the belly button) is located under the tightened skin
- Step 4: The surgeon repositions the belly button to the desired location and creates a new incision
- Step 5: A new belly button is created around the new incision
- Step 6: All the stitches resulting from this process can be concealed within the folds of the belly button by a skilled surgeon
Belly button surgery
Risks of Belly Button Reshaping
If you think belly button rejuvenation is a simple procedure, think again. But it’s important to remember that a new belly button can only be had after surgery and all the risks that abdominal surgery can entail. That means you should take all the regular considerations you would before any other elective procedure in a hospital setting.
Not everyone is a suitable candidate for abdominoplasty surgery. The ideal patient is one who doesn’t smoke and has no history of medical complications. Since tummy tuck surgeries require anesthesia, some patients with underlying conditions might have an adverse reaction. Blood clots and pneumonia are among the symptoms of a bad reaction to anesthesia.
Other risks of belly button reshaping include patients being unhappy with the new appearance. There is always the chance that the procedure leaves a visible scar or the final result has a lopsided appearance.
Causes For Concern After Belly Button Reshaping
Umbilicoplasties and abdominoplasties are generally regarded as procedures with a low-risk factor. Most patients recover within weeks, especially if they stick to their doctor’s advice regarding diet and exercise. In rare cases, complications can arise after a tummy tuck surgery. Some warning signs to look for in the aftermath of belly button reshaping include:
- Persistent pain for days after the surgery
- Bruising or swelling around the stitches that does not subside
- Signs of infection, like fever
- An unusual smell or coloured discharge from around the belly button
The Surgeon’s Role
A belly button rejuvenation is a symbol of trust between patients and surgeons. Patients entrust their entire bodies to their surgeon, so they must carefully consider their choice.
In the initial consultation, patients can evaluate whether their surgeon is right for them. Choosing a plastic surgeon or specialist general surgeon with previous experience in belly button rejuvenation is essential. Looking at before-after photos of previous patients will indicate the surgeon’s skills. Make sure to discuss your aesthetic preferences with your cosmetic surgeon before the procedure. Most surgeons have a signature style when creating a neo-umbilicus. It’s essential to pick one who most closely matches your beauty standards.
Being happy with the appearance of the belly button is crucial to the success of your tummy tuck. If you are considering body contouring involving an abdominoplasty, don’t forget to discuss your designer belly button with your surgeon!
Links & Sources
- Pallua, Norbert MD, PhD; Markowicz, Marta P. MD (2010) Aesthetically Pleasant Umbilicoplasty
- B R Baack (1996) Umbilicoplasty: the construction of a new umbilicus and correction of umbilical stenosis without external scars
