Tummy tuck, also called abdominoplasty refers to the cosmetic surgery procedure done to acquire an improved abdominal profile.

This involves taking out extra skin and fat and the tightening of abdominal muscles, resulting in a flatter abdomen. It is usually women whose skin have sagged after several pregnancies or people who had undergone drastic weight loss loosening their abdominal skin who opt to have this procedure.

Best Candidates for Tummy Tuck

Women who’ve given birth have loosened skin and muscles far beyond the normal recovery. Those men and women who’ve had drastic weight loss through rigid exercise or diet and bariatric surgery. Advancing age causes diminishing elasticity of the skin, another cause for loosened abdominal skin. Tummy tuck surgeries are beneficial for these patients.

Possible Consequences

There are always reservations, potential threats and snags involved in all surgical procedures, along with thousands of successful tummy tucks done yearly. A qualified plastic surgeon, trained in body contouring operations, can be expected to deliver positive outcomes, in general.

At the same time, there are accepted complications and risks in tummy tuck surgeries. Some would be infection and blood clots, which happen rarely but the possibility of their occurence should not be discounted. To treat infections, patients are dispensed antibiotics and drainage, which can extend your the hospital confinement. To reduce the possible occurence of blood clotting, it is advisable to move around as soon as you are advised it is safe to do so.

Deficient healing would result in ugly scars and call for a follow-up procedure. Smoking is advised to be refrained from because it adds to the possibility of complications and delay recovery. You must follow all pre and post operative instructions your surgeon gives out because these are intended to reduce the probable occurrence of complications for you.

Costs

Tummy tucks cost from $5,000 to $9,000. There are operations that can be done simultaneous with the tummy tuck but would lead to additional payments. For instance, a tummy tuck with liposuction and breast augmentation would come up to somewhere between $15,000 to $20,000.

Contraindications to Tummy Tuck

Tummy tucks are not advisable for those in poor state of health, like those with heart disease, extreme obesity or a record of thromboembolitic disease. Heavy smoking and expectations which are not viable count among contradications to abdominoplasty.

Preparatory steps

In you first conference with your cosmetic surgeon, your overall state of health will be assessed – the extent of fatty deposits in your abdominal region and the quality of your skin tone. Don’t neglect to mention important information like maintenance drugs or vitamins and health supplements, as well as habits like smoking and allergies you may have.

Verbalize all your concerns about the procedure, too. Your surgeon will lay down possible results, complications and risks, costs, etc. Realistic expectations and an open attitude towards recovery time and possible permanent scars would make you the right candidate for a tummy tuck.

When you finally decide on the tummy tuck, your surgeon will schedule the operation and lay down the pre-operative instructions for you. Diagnostic examinations like routine blood work and cardiac work ups are requested for abdominoplasty patients.

You would be instructed to suspend or cease some medications as early as two weeks before the actual procedure. These are drugs that raise the possibility of bleeding, like aspirin, blood thinners, vitamin E and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

A tummy tuck is commonly done with the patient under general anesthesia; there are some who perform this operation with just a local anesthetic with a sedative. The operation lasts from two to five hours.

Full Tummy Tuck

A full tummy tuck is done with an incision across the abdomen, crossing from one hipbone to the other, just above the pubic region. Another cut is done around the belly button to free it from the surrounding abdominal tissue.

Skin from the abdominal wall is removed to bare the rectus muscles or vertical abdominal muscles and fascia (the muscles usually stretched by past pregnancies) meant to be tightened, The vertical muscles then are sewn into a new place – to constrict the muscles and diminish the abdominal girth.

When the muscles have been relocated, extra skin and fat are taken out. The remaining skin is positioned over the abdominal area and sewn in place. The belly button is also taken out and sewn in the new position. Usually, liposuction is done to smoothen the areas that had been treated.

Partial or Mini Tummy Tuck

Partial or mini abdominoplasty is given as an alternative for those within 10% of their desired body mass. This method is not as invasive, with smaller incisions and none around the navel. In some occasions,liposuction is done and the fatty tissues lower than the navel is taken out to constrict the muscles from the belly button to the pubic area.

If your weight is more than 20% of your ideal, your plastic surgeon would most definitely propose a full tummy tuck for you.

Post-abdominoplasty

A tummy tuck is a major operation. Thus there is a longer recovery period in contrast to minor cosmetic procedures. Most of the time, you have to wait one to three weeks before resuming your normal lifestyle.

There are patients who stay overnight in the hospital while some are ordered to stay for up to two days. Your confinement time varies with the extent of the surgery. In the first few days after the surgery, you can expect some puffiness and tenderness in the treated areas for which you will be provided pain relievers. Narcotics are usually prescribed for pain management. Later, non-narcotic pain relievers can easily relieve the patient’s pain.

You will be given specific orders when to get back to your regular lifestyle. Light to moderate activity can be done four weeks after the procedure and full normal activity after six to eight weeks.

Although the scarring improves over time, this condition will not entirely disappear. The surgeon can suggest topical medications for the scars.

You must go on a suitable diet and exercise program after a tummy tuck. Women who give birth again could get another tuck afterwards.

For those of you thinking of going through a tummy tuck to look much better, you must look at the procedure from a realistic perspective. Indeed this cosmetic surgical procedure will enhance your appearance and raise your self confidence, actual results may not correspond to what you envisioned. Thus, it is a must that you first thresh out with your chosen cosmetic surgeon whatever results you are anticipating from the tummy tuck.

Author Bio: Kalona Karrington is a writer and researcher for Cosmetic Surgery Today. Article courtesy of www.CosmeticSurgeryToday.com, the consumer’s guide to plastic cosmetic surgery information and resources. Please visit http://www.cosmeticsurgerytoday.com/tummy_tuck/ for more information.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: cosmetic surgery, abdominoplasty, tummy tuck