The more weight you lose prior to surgery, the more skin can be removed and the better result you get. If you are significantly overweight, you should wait to do your abdominoplasty. I tell my patients that every pound they lose before surgery is ten times better than the weight they lose after surgery. Excess fat can be partially treated through a tummy tuck, but the results of surgery are much better the closer you are to your goal weight. Tummy tucks work best on excess skin and loose muscles. Do I need to be at my goal weight before I have a tummy tuck? The removal of skin on the back can provide a lift of the buttocks. The abdominal muscles are tightened just like in a standard abdominoplasty. In this procedure, I remove excess fat and skin from the lower abdomen, flanks and lower back just above the buttocks – all the way around the body. Some bariatric surgery patients may already have a scar in that area, so that scar may be able to be revised.Īnother option for massive weight loss patients is to perform a lower body lift called a belt lipectomy. Unfortunately, that creates an additional vertical scar from the ribs to the pubic area. For those patients, I will take an additional upside down “V” of skin from the ribs to the standard abdominoplasty incision. Patients who have lost a significant amount of weight, either through bariatric surgery or through diet and exercise, will often have more extra skin than what a standard abdominoplasty can correct. I have lost a significant amount of weight, but now I have a lot of extra skin. You should not try to work through the pain. During your healing time, pain is an important guide. After 4-6 weeks, patients may be able to start formal exercise, but it is usually around 2-3 months before they can get back to pre-surgery levels of exercise.Īs with most surgeries, if you overdo activities too soon, you can tear out the stiches, pull the muscles and possibly end up with a hematoma. Usually, patients can resume light activity within 2-3 weeks, which includes walking, but not strenuous exercise. How long do I have to wait to exercise after my tummy tuck? After a consultation and an exam, you and I will discuss the best plan to get you the result you want. If you have minimal extra skin, loose lower abdominal muscles and some extra fat, you may be a better candidate for a mini-tummy tuck. In a mini-tummy tuck, only the lower abdominal muscles are tightened, but the trade-off is a shorter scar that is lower on the body.įor my patients with a lot of extra skin, stretch marks or those who have had children, I generally recommend a standard tummy tuck. For a mini-tummy tuck, I will often perform liposuction of the abdomen to create a firmer, tighter surface, which is generally not necessary with a full tummy tuck. In a mini-tummy tuck, I surgically remove less skin from the lower abdomen than in a standard tummy tuck and I do not need to re-position the belly button. To keep the belly button in the right place, I make a small, circular incision around it and then bring it through a new opening once the rest of the belly is tightened up. I will also tighten the muscles in the midline of the abdomen from the rib cage down to the pubic area to create a flatter stomach. In a standard tummy tuck, I remove a large oval of skin from hip to hip and from the belly button down to the pubic area. View Tummy Tuck Gallery FAQ What is involved in a standard tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) surgery? Lichten to all my friends and certainly recommend him to you all!” I COULDN’T BE HAPPIER! I am recommending Dr. I look better and feel so much better about myself. Lichten was so attentive, even getting me a clean compression garment and bringing it the hospital before I left! After the surgery and follow-up appointments, he listened to and answered all my goofy questions. He suggested a collaborating gynecologist and after several appointments with both, I had a hysterectomy, tummy tuck, liposuction of flanks and thighs October 2017. Lichten and with the procedures he recommended. Lichten and Central Ohio Plastic Surgery in Lancaster. Doing research on-line, I found that lots of women have a tummy tuck AT THE SAME TIME as the hysterectomy, so I thought “Why not?!”. During my yearly exam January 2017, my gynecologist discovered I had fibroid tumors and suggested I have a hysterectomy. I had an appendectomy scar and a c-section scar that drove me crazy because fat would hang over the scars making my abdomen look lumpy. “I had been wanting to have a tummy tuck for a long time.
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