Patient satisfaction with two different methods of umbilicoplasty

Creating a youthful appearing umbilicus as part of an abdominoplasty enhances the overall result. Various different methods have been reported as producing equally good results.

Twenty-five patients undergoing abdominoplasty were divided into two groups: 12 patients had round umbilicoplasty and 13 had an inverted U flap inset. Three independent surgeons assessed the aesthetic outcome of the two different techniques in specially designed clinics by using four-point ordinal scales, which were also used by the patients for subjective self-assessment.

Surgical assessment demonstrated equally good results with both methods, whereas the inverted U flap was the favorite method for reconstruction among patients (p < 0.029). Fifty-eight percent of patients in the round method group were conscious that they had umbilicoplasty, as opposed to only 15 percent in the inverted U flap group. Twenty-five percent of patients in the round group preferred their old umbilicus compared with this new one. None of the patients in the inverted U flap group preferred their old umbilicus.

The authors discuss the surgical technique of the inverted U flap. This is currently the method of choice in recreating the umbilicus at the time of abdominoplasty.