Tummy Tuck - Abdominoplasty

A plastic surgeon removes loose skin, tightens the abdominal muscles, and eliminates stubborn fat. This proven surgical treatment is always tailored to meet your unique needs and goals. .

What is a Tummy Tuck?

In a tummy tuck procedure, a plastic surgeon removes loose skin, tightens the abdominal muscles, and eliminates stubborn fat. This proven surgical treatment is always tailored to meet your unique needs and goals. The goal of a tummy tuck is to improve the overall shape of the body and to improve the patients body image. The scar for a tummy tuck is on the bikini line and with today’s available scar treatments need not be ugly.

When should I consider an abdominoplasty?

If you’re self-conscious about loose, excess or droopy skin around your stomach or have weakened abdominal muscles due to pregnancy, a C-Section, bariatric surgery or weight loss. A tummy tuck may be the best way to achieve a firm, more youthful figure and refine your contours when diet and exercise can’t eliminate stubborn excess tissues and fat cells.

There are several variations of tummy tuck surgery, each designed to target certain areas of the body or specific issues.

Are you a candidate for Abdominoplasty?

This is a deeply personal choice. Do it for yourself and no one else (even if someone has offered to pay for it). You’ll be much happier with the end result if you have the procedure to please yourself. You must, however, have realistic expectations.

You may be a candidate if:

• You are physically healthy.
• Carry excess weight in the midsection.
• Have loose or droopy abdominal skin.
• Are committed to maintain results with a stable diet and regular exercise.

Spend time looking at tummy tuck photos and understand what is expected during recovery. The more insight you have, the better you’ll recover and your expectations will be more realistic.

Candidates should not:

• Have any serious medical conditions which could be compromised by surgery.
• Plan to become pregnant
• Expect to lose a significant amount of weight

You might also consider body, arm, thigh and bottom lift procedures with your abdominoplasty to rejuvenate your body contouring following significant weight loss. Liposuction may also be required to remove stubborn fat. The fat removed during lipostion can be used to improve other areas of the body by fat grafting.

What are your goals?

Once your plastic surgeon understands what you’d like to do, he’ll take some pictures, and determine the right treatment. You should discuss together the degree of correction required, where the incisions will be made, your budget and physical health.

Types of Tummy Tuck

There are several types of abdominoplasty available. Options include:

Traditional tummy tuck

This involves a hip-to-hip incision and around the belly button. This usually involves moving the belly button to ensure a more natural looking result. Traditional tummy tucks are commonly combined with abdominal liposuction.

Mini tummy tucks

Is a perfect option if you are within 10 percent of your ideal body weight and modifies only the abdomen below the navel. A Mini tummy tuck requires a single small incision and usually do not reposition the navel.

Extended tummy tucks

Involves the removal of ‘love handles’ as well fat and excess skin from the stomach. The incision is usually low so it’s barely visible, even when wearing low-rise clothing. This allows for the treatment of a larger area than the traditional tummy tuck.

Circumferential tummy tucks

This surgery lifts the entire lower body. These surgeries are often sought after gastric bypass surgery. Massive weight loss is often accompanied by a significant loss in skin elasticity. Some medical aids cover part of the cost of a circumferential tummy tuck because the presence of sagging skin may be a health issue as fungus can form between the folds of the skin. Circumferential abdominoplasty involve the removal of excess skin from the thigh, buttocks, and hips, as well as the central abdominal area. The scars for this type of procedure extend to the back.

Anaesthesia

Abdominoplasty surgery is performed under general or local anaesthesia and takes 90 minutes to 5 hours. Most surgeons prefer complete sedation, because abdominal muscles are then completely relaxed, avoiding unexpected muscle or body movement. Localized anaesthesia is used in some mini tummy tuck surgery, which is a shorter and less invasive.

Muscle Tightening

During surgery your cosmetic surgeon will tighten sagging abdominal muscle and remove packets of excess fat and skin. The skin is separated from the abdominal walls through the incision and the muscles are pulled closer together to give a more toned appearance and narrow the waistline.

Skin Removal

After abdominoplasty surgery, particularly if you are lucky enough to have a subtle scar, it may look like the loose skin around your stomach has been tucked into your body. It hasn’t. Its actually been removed. Following the tightening of the abdominal muscles, the skin is stretched downward and excess skin is trimmed away. Sometimes liposuction is used to remove any unwanted fat pockets.

Stretch Marks

Any stretch marks located below the navel are often removed along with the excess skin while the remaining stretch marks often appear less prominent because stretching of skin flattens the stretch marks, decreasing indentations.

Closing the Incisions

The incisions are sutured together using surgical stitches to help the skin cells to coalesce. A surgical drain is inserted at the site of at the same time. The surgical drain is usually removed before the stitches, about a week after surgery and then stitches will normally be removed in stages over a period of two weeks.

Scarring

Scarring is inevitable, though your surgeon will endeavour to minimise the visibility so they are hidden beneath underwear, bikinis, and shorts. Follow your surgeon’s pre- and post-operative instructions closely to help reduce the size and darkness of scars and promote smooth and quick healing. There are incrdibly good scar treatments available, ask your surgeon about these treatments.