Question:
Panni Vs Tummy Tuck: So are you saying there is NO belly button whatsoever with the Panniculectomy?

I have been reading these post on Panniculectomy vs Abdominoplasty. Am I understanding correctly that with each panniculectomy they remove the belly button...and if so why?    — [Anonymous] (posted on January 13, 2002)

January 13, 2002
I am 6 weeks post-op panniculectomy with a new "outie" bellybutton. My surgeon offered the bellybutton as an option. He said that it was a little faster surgery to remove it altogether, but if I was emotionally invested in having a bellybutton, he'd be glad to give me one. After living with one for 56 years, I opted to leave this world someday with one, and I am very pleased with the results....really cute! He said that about half his patients are just fine with doing without :-) Good luck!
   — Diana T.

January 13, 2002
Wow thats interesting. Well If I am able to have one, I want mine. Odd, Al was mentioning the depth and I have a very deep belly button. Water gets trapped in it while bathing and I have to remember to dry that area out..otherwise it will cause alot of irritation and we won't discuss the bad smell. I personally could do with a smaller one, that isn't so deep.
   — TerryS

January 14, 2002
The way my surgeon explained it to me, your belly button is attached to your abdominal wall and it gets cut away when they cut away all that excess skin. My "new" belly button doesn't look all that different from my "old" one ... the only difference is where it is on my open VBG scar. Before my panni, my belly button was about 1-2" BELOW my scar. Now, there's about 3 inches of scar BELOW the belly button, so that tells you how much flab they lopped off. I look at it this way. The only people other than me who're ever going to get up close and personal with my new belly button are my husband and my doctor, and my husband's fine with it. In my case, you have to look REALLY close to realize it's not a "real" belly button ... and, if you're that close to me, you deserve to see something interesting. Hope this helps!
   — Cheryl Denomy

January 14, 2002
I think it depends on your surgeon. I had a panniculectomy and my doctor kept my belly button, just moved it up higher.
   — Helen C.

January 14, 2002
I still have my same belly button. The surgeon just cut around my old one then restitched it in place in it's new spot. HTH
   — Lori_B

January 14, 2002
And a belly button is only a scar in reality :-)
   — crishsapig

January 14, 2002
If you are paying for the abdominal plasty yourself...as I did when I had my first surgery back in 1991....To keep my belly button was an additional $1000.... I asked the doc if I needed the belly button, he said only when you were in the womb.. I said I was not going back so he could keep it!!!!Depending on how much skin is removed in a tummy tuck....will determine if the belly button can be replaced without too much cosmetic surgery... I had nearly 8 pounds removed. My belly button was nearly to my knees!!!!
   — Pamela W.