Asked this on another forum and got no answers. Maybe nobody there knew, but someone here might.
Take a look at exhibit A:
http://www.edenfantasys.com/nipple-pump-system-/adult-toys-dvds-21204
Say one wanted to use that not only for its intended purpose but also on one's innie belly button. I am not interested in creating an outie -- in fact, I really, really don't want to change the innie I've got -- but I figure some pressure using this device would probably feel very good.
1) Has anyone here tried vaccuum-pump devices like this one in any capacity?
2) Could I go from an innie to an outie if I overdid it? I know to go from outie to innie, some folks seek out surgical reconstruction, but I didn't know if there was a "you are what you are" deal that makes your navel shape permanent.
A serious question, this, as I have said device in hand.
I think there'd be a risk of causing a hernia along the linea alba. The umbilicus is held in place by ligaments which are the remnants of the arteries that carried the blood from the placenta into the foetus, and they are very tough. However, innies do sometimes become outies as a result of abdominal distension, such as in pregnancy. I don't know, is the short answer, but the line along the abdomen where the abdominal muscles meet is quite thin and probably weaker that the ligaments holding the umbilicus. It seems to me you'd be applying suction locally while atmospheric pressure was still applied to the surface of the rest of your abdomen, and there'd be an umbilical hernia as a result.
Then again, i've never tried it and it's amazing what the body is capable of.
Surgically, i suppose you'd need to find a spare bit of ligament from elsewhere in your body, sever the umbilical ligament and replace it with that bit, then make sure it got a good blood supply from somewhere. Ligaments don't need much blood, so it's probably doable, but i don't know where the spare bit would come from that wouldn't be disabling in other ways (unless it was transplanted from someone who wanted an innie and had the same tissue type).
http://www.youtube.com/user/nineteenthly