Abdominoplasty
Abdominoplasty, also known as a tummy tuck, is a cosmetic surgical procedure to improve the appearance of the abdomen. Tummy tuck is not a weight reduction method, it is meant to sculpt your abdomen to make it firmer. Ideally, patient should be within 10% of their ideal body weight, or a BMI around 25.
As part of normal anatomy, there is a fine line (linea alba) between the two vertical rectus muscles in the front of the abdomen. These are the muscles that create a six-pack when well developed. As one of the natural changes that occur during pregnancy or major weight gain, the abdominal wall stretches. In some women, the linea alba between the two muscles stretches and does not return to normal. This is called a diastasis recti. A classical abdominoplasty is treatment of choice to correct this, by suturing together the two muscles.
Can I undergo abdominoplasty?
In many patients, there is no real problem with the abdominal wall. For patients whose primary complaint is their loose skin and fat, there is no need to perform any suturing of the muscles. An abdominoplasty that removes loose skin but does not tighten the underlying abdominal muscles is called a skin-only abdominoplasty.
Why consider abdominoplasty?
- You have excess skin that's accumulated around the area of your bellybutton
- You have a weak lower abdominal wall
- Liposuction didn't adequately improve the appearance of your abdomen
- You previously had a C-section and have retracted scarring
Tummy tuck procedures can:
- Remove excess skin
- Reduce excess fat by direct excision and liposuction techniques
- Firm, flatten, and restore abdominal muscle contour.
Procedure results in youthful, natural and proportional aesthetic midsection. The degree of skin excess, fat, and bulge will differ in every individual, and there are a variety of techniques available for their correction:
- Mini abdominoplasty - a mini tummy tuck treats the region limited below the belly button and above the pubic area, and is ideal for isolated excess in this region
- Modified abdominoplasty - a modified tummy tuck corrects both limited anterior skin and fat excess as well as the entire diastasis recti (midline separation of abdominal muscles)
- Classical abdominoplasty - a full tummy tuck can remove more significant skin and localized fat excess, repairs diastasis recti, and rejuvenates and "re-insets" the umbilicus (belly button)
- Skin-only abdominoplasty - a removal of only the excess skin, which removes the saggy appearance. Desired amount removed and skin tucked in.
- Lipoabdominoplasty - tummy tuck in conjunction with liposuction, which provides for additional regional contouring (including flanks and hips) as well as improved shaping and sculpting of the midline abdominal contour