Just ask yourself this …
• Do you have a protruding belly despite your daily exercise regimen?
• Has your abdominal skin become increasingly lax and unsightly since giving birth?
• After losing weight, have you found it impossible to regain the flat stomach of your youth?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, it may be time for a tummy tuck. Also known as abdominoplasty, a tummy tuck is a safe and effective procedure for the restoration of weakened or separated abdominal muscles and the removal of excess fat and skin. The results derived include a dramatically flatter and firmer abdomen and the return of a well-proportioned abdominal profile.
The Causes
There’s no shame or blame to assign, because even individuals of healthy weight can develop a protruding tummy surrounded by rolls of loose, sagging skin. The common culprits are pregnancy, aging, sweeping weight fluctuations, heredity, and previous surgeries. Nevertheless, in the hands of a skilled plastic surgeon, this condition can be reversed.
Do note, however, that if you’re planning a pregnancy or extreme weight loss, your doctor will likely recommend that you delay the surgery until afterward for best permanent results. It’s also important to know that a tummy tuck will not eliminate stretch marks, although their appearance can be eliminated or greatly diminished via such medspa treatments as eMatrix Skin Resurfacing and Mesotherapy.
The Surgery
• General anesthesia will be administered prior to the surgery to ensure you feel no discomfort during the procedure.
• Once put to sleep, your surgeon will make a horizontal incision from pubic area to navel. Through this incision, the weakened abdominal muscles will be repaired and the excess fat and skin removed.
• Additionally, a second incision around the navel may be required to address the separated muscles and excess fat and skin in the upper abdominal region.
The Follow-up Care
After the 2- to 5-hour surgery, your incisions will be dressed and bandaged, and you’ll be given a compression garment to wear for up to four weeks. Pain medication will be prescribed to eliminate discomfort, and any scarring will fade in 9 to 12 months. Meanwhile, for best long-term results, abdominoplasty patients should adhere to a healthy lifestyle to prevent the abdominal wall from again becoming lax and fatty.
Finally, after 1 to 2 weeks, patients can return to jobs that are not physically taxing, and after approximately 6 weeks, you’ll be able to resume normal activities, including strenuous exercise and stretching.
The Results
You’ll love your toned new shape and the way it looks in those designer duds.
