Dog ears after tummy tuck are a common side effect of the surgery, but there are things you can do to prevent them.
First, make sure your dog is in good shape before the surgery—this means that it’s not overweight and doesn’t have any health conditions. Your vet will be able to tell you whether or not your dog is ready for the procedure.
Second, make sure that your vet has given you proper instructions for how to care for your dog’s ears during the post-surgery period. This includes how often to clean them and what kind of products should be used on them.
Finally, if your dog does develop dog ears after tummy tuck, see your vet as soon as possible so they can give you advice on how best to treat them until they go away naturally (which usually takes about two weeks).
There are several factors that can contribute to the development of dog ears after Tummy tuck surgery. These include:
1. INADEQUATE SKIN REMOVAL
One of the most common causes of dog ears is inadequate skin removal during the Tummy tuck procedure. If the surgeon does not remove enough skin from the abdomen area, excess tissue can bunch up and form folds at the ends of the incision lines.
2. POOR INCISION PLACEMENT
Another contributing factor to the development of dog ears is poor incision placement. If the incision line is not positioned correctly, excess skin may be left at the ends, leading to the formation of dog ears.
3. INADEQUATE TENSION ON THE INCISION LINE
Proper tension on the incision line is essential for a successful Tummy tuck surgery. If the tension is too loose, excess skin can bunch up and form dog ears. If the tension is too tight, the incision line may stretch and become more visible.
4. IMPROPER WOUND CLOSURE
The way that the incision line is closed can also contribute to the formation of dog ears. If the wound is closed too tightly or not aligned correctly, excess skin may bunch up and create folds.
The most common cause of dog ears after tummy tuck is an improper incision. The surgeon must make sure that the incision is made in a way that allows for proper healing, especially if the incision is made on the abdomen. In addition, the surgeon needs to make sure that the skin above the muscle is not pulled too tight during surgery, as this can lead to dog ears.
Tummy Tuck
“Dog ears” are a relatively common occurrence in patients who have recently underwent abdominoplasty surgery, and can be otherwise described as a bunching of excess skin at each end of the surgical scar. An experienced surgeon can minimize the likelihood of this happening, although in some cases it may be unavoidable. The good news is that dog ears can easily be corrected.
What are tummy tuck dog ears?
Tummy tuck dog ears are often described as an excess “pucker” of skin and fatty tissue at the ends of the incision line. These triangular-shaped bits of excess skin resemble dog ears, hence the name, and can occur on both sides or only one. Dog ear deformities are most common after tummy tuck surgery, but breast reduction and breast lift patients are at risk as well.
Although a surgeon will do their best to avoid this common complication, sometimes dog ears are simply unavoidable. In general, they occur because the incision was too short, causing a bulge to occur. This can be due to poor surgical planning, or because the patient requested a shorter incision. Since dog ears are mainly composed of fatty tissue, overweight patients are also more at risk than those with a lower BMI.
In most cases the excess tissue goes away once the swelling has subsided — generally within the first 3-6 months after surgery. If the swelling has gone down and your dog ears are still there, revision surgery will be required to have them removed.
How can tummy tuck dog ears be removed?
Dog ears can easily be addressed through a minor procedure under local anesthesia. This is done after most of the initial swelling has gone down, which is typically after three months, and does not significantly impact the tummy tuck surgery patient’s original recovery time.
The procedure is very straightforward, and is typically done in about 30 minutes. It involves the removal of excess skin and a slight lengthening of the original incision. Surgeons will generally use internal sutures instead of external ones, and in most cases drains are not required.
If the dog ears are larger in size and cause significant bulging, liposuction may also be performed. This helps flatten them out and achieve the best possible outcome. In other cases, liposuction may also be the only procedure required. This is particularly true if the dog ears are caused by excess fatty tissue instead of excess skin.
In addition to excision and liposuction, some plastic surgeons recommend a newer technique to correct dog ears: CoolSculpting, an FDA-approved body contouring procedure. CoolSculpting is done by freezing the fat through a technology known as cyolipolysis. It’s completely non-invasive, which means that it doesn’t involve any needles, anesthesia or downtime.
What to expect during recovery
In most cases you can expect the downtime after dog ear correction surgery to last no more than a few days. This is true whether the procedure involves liposuction or not.
You should be able to resume your regular activities after just a week, with the exception being exercise. While many surgeons will recommend that you abstain from strenuous physical activity for six weeks, your surgeon may approve light cardio after as little as 2-3 weeks.
Since the muscle isn’t resewn, pain should be minimal. In the event that you do experience any pain, over-the-counter medication such as Advil or Tylenol is typically all that is needed to keep it under control.
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Please see this female who demonstrates how to avoid dog ears following tummy tuck surgery.
What are dog ears?
How to avoid dog ears following tummy tuck surgery is a common question I get from patients desiring correction of undesired pregnancy changes. What is a dog ear? A dog ear is an unnecessary fullness that can result along the flanks following tucking of the front abdominal skin and soft tissues.
The reason for creation of dog ears is two fold. First, just as there is fullness in the front of the belly which patients are seeking a tummy tuck for, there is fullness of the sides due to either excess fat and/or skin redundancy. In addition, the process of tightening the soft tissues in the front will push the soft tissues out on the sides. Everybody has witnessed this effect when trying to stuff a suitcase when traveling.
As you zip one side, the clothes will pop through the other side! Regardless of the cause of the dog ears, the appearance of soft tissue on each side of your torso can appear like the floppy ears of a dog. This is what is unappealing to patients and characterized as dog ears.
How to avoid dog ears during surgery
The real question is how to avoid dog ears following tummy tuck surgery? The answer to this question depends on the cause of the dog ears. When the pouts on the end are related to excess fat, then liposuction of the fat alone can avoid dog ears. I will typically wait until the near end of the tummy tuck to evaluate the sides.
This is because tightening the belly will maximally push out the lateral torso just like the suitcase analogy above. Typically, I will inject about 300 to 500cc of the tumescent solution on each side and liposuction that amount out until dog ears are eliminated. Avoidance of dog ears is essential to achieving appropriate female aesthetics.
Appropriate lateral female torso contours demand a smooth transition from the more generous buttock and hips to the narrowed waistline. As such, a successful tummy tuck demands avoidance of dog ears. The second cause of dog ears is skin redundancy. How to avoid dog ears following tummy tuck surgery caused by skin redundancy requires surgical excision.
Surgical excision of these dog ears can be accomplished by extending the tummy tuck skin excision laterally over the flank region. We call this the extended tummy tuck and will prevent dog ears caused by skin redundancy. Another advantage of the extended tummy tuck is that it will also allow for tightening of the lateral thighs.
Avoiding dog ears summary
Avoidance of dog ears following tummy tuck surgery is critical to achieving excellent tummy tuck results. Elimination of dog ears during surgery will ensure proper female aesthetics as defined by the Tilde Curve.