Procedure Time:	3.5-6 hours
Recovery Time:	14 days
*These are estimates only

Tummy Tuck (Abdominalplasty)

A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, tightens the stretched muscles and skin on the midsection. This process removes excess skin and creates a taunt and flat abdomen. The tummy tuck procedure is used to remove the pouch or extra skin around the midsection, primarily on women but occasionally on men as well. Abdominoplasty is often used to remove stretch marks and damaged skin from the abdominal region following excessive weight gain and loss or repeat pregnancies.

Is this for me?

The majority of candidates seeking a tummy tuck are women. The abdominoplasty is ideal for those who have excessive pockets of fat located between the belly button and the top of the pubic region. The bulging or pouch in this area of the lower abdomen is caused by lax muscles in the abdominal wall as well as fat deposits and excess tissue.

The muscles can become separated and damaged as the fascia that connects the tissues becomes damaged or is missing. Those seeking a tummy tuck want the loose skin and fat in this region removed and the abdominal muscles are tightened through surgery as well. Many patients seeking a tummy tuck have had multiple pregnancies which separated the muscles and stretched the skin of the abdomen or they gained and then lost weight causing the same stretching to occur.

The Tummy Tuck Process

There are two delineations of abdominoplasty. A full tummy tuck removes a larger portion of skin starting well above the navel while a mini tummy tuck starts just below the navel. For both processes, the surgery will take place in a hospital under general anesthesia. Before the surgery, the surgeon will discuss the options and help the patient decide which process is most suitable to create the desired effect. Risks and reasonable outcomes of the surgery will be discussed at this time as well.

Procedure

In a full tummy tuck, the skin is cut away from well over the belly button. In a mini tummy tuck, the skin is removed from below the belly button. Once the excess skin is removed, the surgeon makes sutures to tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall that is now visible. The surgeon then stretches the remaining skin over the exposed portion of the belly creating a full wall of tighter, smoother skin. During this process, the belly button is detached from the skin. It is then reattached to a new location on the repositioned skin.

The surgeon uses sutures, staples or surgical tape to close the incision across the lower abdomen and the abdominoplasty is complete.

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