Abdominoplasty / Tummy Tuck?

Abdominoplasty is the surgical term for the operation carried out to eliminate excess skin and fat from the mid to lower abdominal region. The tummy muscles can also be tightened at the same time if necessary. This excess tissue is often the result of childbearing, or of obesity followed by considerable weight loss, both of which cause stretching or sagging of all the abdominal structures.
Diet and exercise alone cannot provide correction since the deformity stems primarily from structural change. It may necessitate liposuction in conjunction with the standard "tummy tuck" procedure in appropriate cases to achieve the desired result. Please note that this is not a procedure designed to remove weight from the obese patient; there is usually little weight loss as a result of the operation.

The Operation. How Abdominoplasty is performed?

The procedure recontours the body and alters the patient’s abdominal shape improving the profile or silhouette. The procedure can also help to remove stretch marks and scars from the lower part of the abdomen, but a new scar will result. Obviously, as aesthetics is the goal, the scar will be in your natural crease line as much as possible.
The patient is admitted the morning of surgery. A general anaesthetic is used. In some cases the fat is aspirated from the abdomen first using Liposuction techniques. A long horizontal incision is made in the lower abdomen below the so-called ‘bikini line’. The abdominal skin and fatty tissue are raised off the muscle of the abdomen as far upwards as the rib cage. The umbilicus (navel) is freed from its attachments to the abdominal skin and fat. The muscle layers are then tightened if they have been stretched. The skin and fat layer are stretched in a downward direction and are trimmed to remove the excess with a suture line closure within the bikini line, leaving the tummy as smooth as is possible. The umbilicus is then re-implanted so that it lies in its usual position.

Recovery

Postoperative instructions (written and verbal) will be given, but generally speaking most patients will feel well enough to mobilise the day of the operation. A one or two nights' stay in the hospital is sometimes required, after which the patient can return home to convalesce. The healing wound and dressing must be kept clean and dry until the first post operative visit . Often patients can return to work one or two weeks after the operation, but strenuous exercise and lifting must be avoided for at least six weeks. A good healthy diet and gentle exercise is encouraged. Finally, abdominal lipectomy causes a permanent improvement to the shape of the tummy. Patients are able to fit into clothes that they could not wear previously feeling more confident with themselves.