Question:
Belly Button Question :)

I am 7 months out from an open RNY in which I also had my gallbladder removed. I have an incision that runs from my breastbone to just an inch or so below my navel. I'm about 15 pounds from goal, which is really exciting and fortunately don't have any issues with sagging skin. However, my bellybutton looks off-center and weird! I still have a couple of small pockets of fat on either side of it, and it might look different after I lose that fat, but the way the incision was done makes it look like I have almost no bellybutton (it just looks like a small slit) and what is there does not look centered. After major surgery like this I don't expect my abdomen to look the way it used to (my bikini wearing days are over) but this is truly bizarre! I did have problems post-op with suture granulomas and think I may still have a couple under the skin that may be causing this but I'm wondering if it ever goes away?? Has anyone else experienced this?    — MomBear2Cubs (posted on December 31, 2003)

December 31, 2003
Hi and congratulations. You actually ARE having issues with sagging skin....but small ones. The skin is attached to the abdominal wall by fibrous connections, and as the fat goes away, these and the skin may or may not tighten up. As the skin redrapes around your thinner body, the belly button may develop a "frown" shape or some other shape, as it remains anchored to the abdominal wall. Hope this helps.
   — DrL

December 31, 2003
I'm so glad you asked this question and thanks to the doctor below who answered. I had a lap RNY and had the same thing you speak of. With a lap RNY, the camera is inserted through the belly button and I had a small incision there. Even before I lost any weight at all, my belly button looked much different. Like you said, it's like it's almost gone, closed and in a frown shape. Yes, I have the dog ears on either side, and I understand that's a skin issue now that I've lost so much weight, but it seemed my belly button and the area around it changed appearance upon surgery, even before any weight loss. I've always found that odd, but figure it will be addressed in the plastic surgery I'm eventually going to have to get. I didn't notice that my belly button looked "off-center" though.
   — sandsonik