What You Need to Know About a Tummy Tuck Surgery

An abdominoplasty, commonly known as a tummy tuck, is a type of cosmetic surgery that works to flatten your tummy by removing any excess fat and skin. If this sounds like a procedure that you would like to have done, there are some things that you should know about the procedure first.

Are You A Good Candidate?

To begin with, you need to be sure that you are a good candidate for the procedure. The best candidates for an abdominoplasty are people who are in good physical health and have a stable weight. These people are physically active, eat well, and do not smoke. Tummy tucks work best for those who have hard-to-lose fat or for women who have given birth and lost the elasticity in their skin. Women planning on having more children or those hoping to lose a lot of weight should wait on having this surgery done.

The Results Of The Procedure

The results of a tummy tuck will be a narrower waist, flatter tummy, and more toned abs. You will notice the results immediately. As long as you continue with a healthy and active lifestyle, which includes physical exercise, you should be able to maintain the results for a long time.

The Procedure

A tummy tuck is a surgical procedure. Dr. Pirani performs it by having you placed under general anaesthesia, so you will need to be prepared to take time off from work and have someone who can drive you to the procedure and back home as well as stay with you immediately after surgery.

During the procedure, two incisions will be made. The first one is from the hipbone on one side of the body, next to the pubic area. The second incision will be around your bellybutton. The skin will be separated from the abdominal muscles. The muscles will then be pulled together and sutured into place, resulting in tighter muscles. This process will give you a narrower waist and tighter abs. Excess skin and fat will then be removed. The bellybutton is then put back into place and the incisions will be closed.

The procedure itself can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours, depending on your needs.

Recovery

In some cases, a tube might be placed under your skin to keep fluid from draining from the surgical site. You will need to wear a compression garment during the recovery process to help keep inflammation down and to ensure that your results are what you want them to be.

The recovery period can last anywhere from 2 weeks up to 2 months, depending on your specific situation. During recovery, you will need to avoid any heavy lifting and strenuous activity. As long as Dr. Pirani signs off on it, you should be able to return to work within 1 to 2 weeks, but that can depend greatly on the type of work that you do and the amount of strain that your body could be under.

Risks

As is the case with any surgical procedure, there are some risks associated with tummy tuck surgery. The most common concern is scarring. There will be scarring at the incision sites. Keeping the incision areas clean and out of the sun, however, will help reduce any risk of noticeable scarring. The redness from the scars will fade away gradually over time.

The other risk is not maintaining your health after the procedure is performed. This will give you poor results and might mean that you need to have the surgery repeated. Make sure you are committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle before having the surgery performed.