What are dog ears after a tummy tuck

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Table of Contents Show

What Causes Dog Ears in Plastic Surgery?
Dog Ears in "Mini" Surgeries
Treating Dog Ears
Contact Our Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon Today
How are dog ears removed?
Dog ears: things to consider

or post your question to Ask a Surgeon to get an authoritative and trustworthy answer from our ASPS member surgeons. The views expressed in Ask a Surgeon and the Patient Community are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

In plastic surgery, a dog ear is a term used to describe a point or fold at the end of a skin-tightening incision. They are common at the sides of tummy tuck incisions or the end of breast reduction scars. They may look like little bumps at the end of surgical scars.

This blog from board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Hayley Brown breaks down what dog ears after plastic surgery are, what causes them, and your options for improving their appearance. Dr. Brown has decades of experience helping her patients achieve natural, harmonious results. Read on to learn about dog ears and how she can help you reduce them.

What Causes Dog Ears in Plastic Surgery?

Dog ears in plastic surgery are most commonly seen at the end of incisions after these procedures:

Tummy tuck
Breast reduction

During a tummy tuck, excess skin is removed in an elliptical shape between your belly button and pubic area. Then, the remaining skin is stretched and tightened and reattached at the incision site. During a breast reduction, your skin will be tightened along the inferior breast fold

After either procedure, your skin will be tightest in the center of the scar, less tight on the edges of the scar, and not tightened at all past the borders of the scar.

Dog ears are formed because of the difference in skin tightness of the incision and the tissue surrounding it. Because the skin is tighter along the scar and looser further away, it tends to pucker. Imagine how, when you dart fabric, the tuck at the sides naturally comes to a point. Dog ears after plastic surgery work the same way.

Dog Ears in "Mini" Surgeries

Patients often ask Dr. Brown about the "mini" tummy tuck because it has a smaller scar and shorter recovery period. Some patients are not as comfortable with the scar that comes with a full tummy tuck and find the smaller scar of a "mini" tummy tuck more acceptable.

However, "mini" tummy tucks are equally susceptible to dog ears. Dr. Brown has seen cases where a "mini" tummy tuck patient had post-operative revision surgery on their dog ears, only to be left with a full-tummy-tuck-sized scar without the dramatic results of a full tummy tuck.

Treating Dog Ears

There are numerous ways dog ears can be treated to help improve their appearance, including:

Massage
Steroid injections
Scar revision surgery

Revision surgery for dog ears involves removing a small, elliptical-shaped piece of tissue from the end of the scar. This will reduce the size of the dog ear while extending the length of the scar.

Contact Our Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon Today

Dr. Brown is one of the premier plastic surgeons in the Las Vegas area. As a female plastic surgeon, she understands the needs and desires of the women who trust her with their bodies in a way that few other plastic surgeons do.

Dr. Brown serves Henderson, Las Vegas, and nearby areas of Nevada. Call (702) 260-7707 today to schedule a consultation.

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.

In plastic surgery, a “dog ear” refers to puckering of the skin that is sometimes apparent at the end of a scar, particularly after procedures that involve some degree of skin tightening. These can occur when skin beyond the end of the scar is looser than skin along the scar itself, often creating a small mound of excess skin where the incision ends.

Due to the skin tightening aspect of tummy tuck surgery (abdominoplasty), dog ears are actually quite common after the procedure. In fact, I would guess that as many as twenty percent of all individuals who receive abdominoplasty end up with this potential side effect on one or both ends of their scar. The good news is, dog ears are generally easy to correct with a minor procedure performed in-office.

Once a portion of the scar has been reopened, some dog ears simply require the excision of loose skin to correct the issue. Others may need touch-up liposuction to remove residual tissues and decrease underlying fullness. In many instances, the procedure involves a combination of both techniques. For the majority of patients, I wait about six months after tummy tuck surgery to determine whether or not a dog ear is present, and if so, the procedure can be conducted in the office under local anesthesia with a relatively quick recovery.

– James F. Boynton, MD, FACS

Contact Boynton Plastic Surgery
For more information about the correction of dog ears after abdominoplasty, or if you wish to schedule a consultation with Dr. Boynton, please contact us today.

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An excess ‘pucker’ of skin and fatty tissue at the end of an incision line. They are more common in procedures that involve the removal of a large amount of skin, fat or tissue, for example abdominoplasty, brachioplasty, breast reduction or bilateral subcutaneous mastectomy. Pockets of swelling along the incision line are sometimes mistaken for dog ears during the first few weeks or months of surgery.

Dog ears are more likely to occur at the end of an incision line if a patient has residual fat, or loose skin, in the adjacent area.

An example of this can sometimes be seen following abdominoplasty, especially if the patient has experienced significant weight loss. Where the tummy tuck incision stops at the hips, patients sometimes have residual skin or fat.

This fat can be reduced using liposuction and the skin can be excised using an extended or belt lipectomy at the same time as the abdominoplasty, but often patients do not want the additional cost or scarring associated with these additional abdominoplasty extensions. Where the tight, excised part of the stomach meets the lose skin or fat on the hips or flanks, the end of the incision can pucker. The chances of having a dog ear are much lower if a patient has always had a stable and healthy weight, and only has skin (not much fat) to be removed.

In most cases, irregularities along the scar line are less visible once superficial swelling has subsided, in the 3-6 months after surgery. But in some cases, dog ears remain after the swelling has dissipated.

How are dog ears removed?

If dog ears persist after your swelling has subsided, they can usually be excised under local anaesthetic in our clinic.

The procedure takes about 20-30 minutes. The area is completely numbed by a local anaesthetic injection. You will revisit the clinic a week later for the incision to be checked and tape changed.

Dog ears: things to consider

As with all surgical procedures, it’s imporant to have realistic expectations about your results, based on how your body looked before surgery. If your skin has been very stretched in the area you are having your procedure, dog ears are more likely to occur. Also, if you want a standard incision length for your arm lift, abdominoplasty etc – but still have residual fat and loose skin in the area where your incisions will end, you are more likely to have a dog ear.

While dog ears can be relatively easily excised after your swelling has gone down, it’s important to consider how you might feel about having a minor procedure after your primary surgery, and the additional recovery time required.