Dog Ears After a Tummy Tuck: What They Are and How They’re Fixed

One of the more frequent questions Dr. Farhad Rafizadeh hears from tummy tuck patients in his Morristown office — and a question that shows up again and again on his RealSelf Q&A page — is about a small bulge of skin that lingers at the ends of the scar, out near the hips, months after surgery.

The short answer is reassuring: those puckers are called dog ears, they are common, and they are almost always fixable with a minor procedure. They are not a sign that the tummy tuck failed — the central result can be excellent while the very tips of the scar need a small refinement. Here is what dog ears actually are, why they form, and how Dr. Rafizadeh corrects them for patients across Northern New Jersey.

What Is a “Dog Ear”?

A dog ear is a small pucker, mound, or fold of excess skin and fat at the end of a surgical scar. In a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), the incision runs horizontally low across the lower abdomen, and the dog ears, when they occur, appear at one or both ends of that scar — typically out toward the hip bones.

Surgeons also call these standing cones. The name describes the mechanism well: when there is more skin at the ends of the incision than can be smoothly tucked away, the leftover tissue stands up into a little cone where the two edges meet. They tend to be most noticeable when you sit, bend, or wear fitted clothing and underwear, and far less obvious lying down.

Why Do Dog Ears Happen After a Tummy Tuck?

Dog ears come down to a simple geometry problem: a mismatch in the amount of skin at the two ends of the closure. A few specific situations make that mismatch more likely:

• An incision that was kept too short. Surgeons and patients both like a shorter scar, but if the incision doesn’t extend far enough laterally, there’s nowhere to redistribute the loose skin at the flanks — so it bunches at the ends.
• Untreated laxity at the hips and flanks. The central abdomen can be tightened beautifully while loose skin and fat just lateral to the scar are left behind. That lateral fullness becomes the dog ear.
• Major weight loss. Patients who have lost a large amount of weight — including with GLP-1 medications like Ozempic — carry more loose skin around the entire torso, which makes lateral dog ears much more likely unless the plan accounts for it. (See our article on tummy tucks after Ozempic and major weight loss.)
• Mini tummy tucks. The shorter incision of a mini abdominoplasty gives less room to feather out the ends, so dog ears are reported more often with the mini procedure than the full one.

Dog ears are common enough to be considered an ordinary refinement rather than a rare complication. In the abdominoplasty literature they are reported in roughly 12 to 30 percent of patients, and dog ear correction accounts for about 10 percent of all tummy tuck revision procedures — one of the most frequent reasons a patient comes back for a small touch-up.

Dr. Rafizadeh’s Approach

The best dog ear is the one you plan against before the first incision. I’d rather make the scar a little longer and lay the tissue perfectly flat than chase a shorter scar and leave a bulge at the hip. When a dog ear does appear — and they do, even in well-planned cases, especially after big weight loss — it’s usually a small office procedure to correct. The key is to diagnose it honestly: is this fat, or is this skin? That answer tells you exactly how to fix it.

That captures the whole philosophy. A dog ear is not a verdict on the operation — it’s a contour detail at the tips of a long scar, and the fix is chosen based on what the bulge is actually made of.

How Dog Ears Are Corrected

Correction is genuinely minor compared to the original tummy tuck. The right technique depends on the makeup of the dog ear:

1. If It’s Mostly Fat — Liposuction

When the bulge pinches as soft and fatty, a small amount of liposuction at the tip of the scar can flatten it. The big advantage is that liposuction corrects the contour without lengthening the scar at all. This is often the case when the dog ear is really lateral hip fullness rather than loose skin.

2. If It’s Mostly Skin — A Small Excision

When the dog ear is excess skin, the only definitive fix is to reopen the end of the scar, remove the extra skin, and re-close the tissue flat. This extends the scar a small amount toward the hip. It sounds like a downside, but it’s a deliberate trade: a slightly longer, flat, well-hidden scar looks far better than a shorter scar that runs into a pucker.

3. Often a Combination

Many dog ears are part fat and part skin, so the correction combines a little liposuction to debulk with a conservative skin excision to lay everything flat. In Dr. Rafizadeh’s Morristown practice, a straightforward dog ear revision is typically performed as a minor in-office procedure under local anesthesia, usually taking well under an hour, with a quick recovery.

When Should a Dog Ear Be Revised?

Timing matters, and patience is rewarded here. A lot of what looks like a dog ear in the first few weeks is simply swelling at the ends of the incision. Mild dog ears frequently shrink or disappear on their own over the first three to six months as that swelling resolves and the tissues settle.

For that reason, Dr. Rafizadeh generally recommends waiting until the area has fully matured — about 6 months, and sometimes up to a year — before deciding on a revision. Operating too early risks correcting something that would have flattened by itself, or chasing a target that’s still moving. The exception is a large, obvious dog ear of true excess skin, which won’t resolve and can be planned once initial healing is complete.

How Dog Ears Are Prevented in the First Place

The honest truth is that the best time to deal with a dog ear is during the original operation. Prevention is almost entirely about surgical planning:

• Marking a long-enough incision so the loose skin has somewhere to go instead of bunching at the ends.
• Carrying the excision laterally to address flank and hip laxity, not just the central abdomen.
• Adding liposuction of the hips when there’s lateral fullness, so the contour tapers smoothly into the scar.
• Tapering the ends of the closure carefully — techniques like high-lateral-tension closure and triangular end resections exist specifically to avoid leaving cones.
• Choosing the right operation — for patients with significant whole-torso laxity after major weight loss, an extended or fleur-de-lis pattern may be the honest answer rather than forcing a standard, shorter scar.

This is also why the consultation matters so much. A surgeon who examines you standing, sitting, and bending — and who talks openly about scar length as a trade-off — is planning against dog ears from the start.

Questions to Ask Any Plastic Surgeon About Dog Ears in North Jersey

If you’re considering a tummy tuck in New Jersey, or you already have dog ears and are interviewing surgeons in Morristown, Summit, Chatham, Madison, Short Hills, or anywhere across Northern New Jersey, these questions are worth asking:

• Based on my anatomy, how likely am I to get dog ears, and how do you plan against them?
• Are you willing to make the scar slightly longer to keep the ends flat?
• Will my procedure include liposuction of the hips and flanks if needed?
• If a dog ear does form, is the correction fat-based, skin-based, or both for someone like me?
• How do you handle revisions — what’s included, and what would a touch-up cost?
• How long do you have me wait before revising a dog ear?

People Also Ask

Common Questions Patients Search About Dog Ears After a Tummy Tuck

How do you fix dog ears after a tummy tuck?

It depends on what the dog ear is made of. A fat-predominant dog ear is flattened with a small amount of liposuction at the tip of the scar, with no added scar length. A skin-predominant dog ear is corrected by reopening the end of the incision, removing the extra skin, and re-closing flat, which extends the scar slightly toward the hip. Both are minor procedures Dr. Rafizadeh performs under local anesthesia in the Morristown office.

Do dog ears after a tummy tuck go away on their own?

Mild ones often do. Much of what looks like a dog ear in the first few weeks is swelling at the ends of the incision, and that can settle over the first three to six months. A moderate-to-large dog ear made of true excess skin will not resolve by itself and needs a minor revision once healing is complete — which is why we wait before deciding.

How much does it cost to remove dog ears after a tummy tuck?

A simple dog ear correction is one of the less expensive revision procedures, especially when it can be done in the office under local anesthesia. Many surgeons minimize or waive their professional fee for their own tummy tuck patients and charge only a facility or supply fee. The exact number depends on whether it’s liposuction, skin excision, or both, so ask for a specific quote — and ask before your original surgery how revisions are handled.

What do dog ears after a tummy tuck look like?

They look like small puckers, mounds, or folds of skin at one or both ends of the horizontal scar, usually near the hip bones. They can stand up like a little cone, fold over, or just look like a bulge the scar runs into. They’re most visible when sitting, bending, or wearing fitted clothing and underwear.

Can liposuction get rid of dog ears?

Yes, when the dog ear is mostly fat — and the advantage is that liposuction flattens the area without lengthening the scar. When the dog ear is mainly excess skin, liposuction alone isn’t enough and the skin has to be trimmed. The decision comes down to pinching the area to judge how much is fat versus skin, which is part of the revision exam.

How can you prevent dog ears after a tummy tuck or panniculectomy?

The same principles apply to both: make the incision long enough, carry the excision laterally to address the flanks and hips, add hip liposuction where indicated, and taper the ends of the closure so no cone is left. Patients who’ve lost a large amount of weight have more lateral laxity and may need a longer incision or an extended pattern to stay flat at the ends.

How do you flatten dog ears after a tummy tuck?

A fatty dog ear is flattened with targeted liposuction at the tip; a skin dog ear is flattened by excising the excess skin and re-closing flat. Massage, compression, and time can reduce the swelling component, but they won’t flatten a true excess-skin dog ear — that one needs a minor revision once the area has healed.

Sources & References

1. Kang AS, Kang KS. “A Systematic Review of Cutaneous Dog Ear Deformity: A Management Algorithm.” Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2020;8(9):e3102. PubMed
2. Vidal P, Berner JE, Will PA. “Managing Complications in Abdominoplasty: A Literature Review.” Arch Plast Surg. 2017;44(5):457–468. PubMed
3. Abdali H, Heydari M, Omranifard M, Rasti M. “Classic high lateral tension and triangular resection methods to prevent dog ear and elongation scar in patients undergoing abdominoplasty: A comparative open-label clinical trial.” J Res Med Sci. 2017;22:73. PMC
4. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty).” plasticsurgery.org
5. Dr. Farhad Rafizadeh, RealSelf Q&A profile. realself.com

Related Reading From Dr. Rafizadeh’s Blog

Patients researching tummy tuck results, scars, and revisions in Northern New Jersey may find these articles useful:

• Abdominoplasty Recovery and Scar Care in Morristown
• Can the Tummy Tuck Scar Be Shorter?
• Drains vs. Drainless Tummy Tuck: Progressive Tension Sutures
• Tummy Tuck After Ozempic and Major Weight Loss in NJ
• Mommy Makeover: Tummy Tuck and Breast Lift in One Surgery

Bottom Line

A dog ear after a tummy tuck is a small pucker of leftover skin or fat at the end of the scar, usually near the hip. It’s common, it’s not a sign the operation failed, and it’s almost always correctable — often with a quick in-office procedure once the area has fully healed. The best strategy is prevention through careful planning, and the second-best is an honest diagnosis of whether the bulge is fat or skin, which decides the fix.

If you have dog ears after a tummy tuck done elsewhere, or you’re planning an abdominoplasty in Morristown, Summit, Chatham, Madison, Short Hills, or anywhere across Northern New Jersey, Dr. Rafizadeh is happy to examine the area and walk through your specific options during a consultation.