Tummy tuck, also called abdominoplasty, is a cosmetic procedure that is performed to tighten up the belly and remove extra skin and fat. Sometimes our patients complain of “muffin tops” that hang over pants at the waist time, stretch marks from pregnancy, or a bulge of their belly. Other people may be concerned about tethering of the skin down to a c section scar that causes an irregular contour. This is usually due to a variable combination of the rectus muscle (your “six pack” muscle) stretching, thinned or loose skin, and uneven fat deposits. Surgery can help to restore your contour and remove extra fat. Options of the best surgical technique vary depending on how much skin or fat you have.
If you don’t have much extra skin at all and only extra fat, then liposuction can improve the contour with minimal scar. There rest of the determination of how much scar you have depends on how much skin you have. In essence, I tell my patients that oftentimes, we are exchanging an improvement in the contouring of the skin with a scar. Surgery is an outpatient procedure and patients are usually discharged home the same day. The recovery time is generally about 3-4 weeks, with no heavy lifting or weights for about 6 weeks. We can often hide the scar within the underwear or bikini line so that it is less noticeable.
