You will see results immediately after your tummy tuck, but you may need to wait a few months before you can appreciate the full results of your surgery. The changes will be most dramatic in the first week or so, but you should continue to see improvement for months after that. You may be surprised at how quickly your body bounces back from this procedure. Everyone heals at a different rate, but most patients are able to return to normal activity within two weeks of the surgery.
In the weeks following surgery, you will notice that your belly button has been repositioned and is healing along with the rest of your skin. It’s possible that your belly button might become red or swollen during this time as it heals, but most patients find that this lasts only a few days or weeks before it looks completely normal again.
Read on to learn more. How Long After A Tummy Tuck Do You See Results, How Many Sizes Can You Lose With a Tummy Tuck and How Long Does a Tummy Tuck Surgery Last
How Long After A Tummy Tuck Do You See Results
if you’re considering having a tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty surgery, you should know what to expect in terms of when you’ll see results and how long they’ll last.
Tummy tuck results aren’t immediate:
In the first few weeks after surgery you will have swelling and bruising. The actually amount of swelling you have varies from person-to-person. Two factors may impact the amount of swelling you have:
- If you’ve had liposuction over your abdomen in the past, it’s common to have more swelling after a tummy tuck.
- Removing a larger amount of skin will affect the amount of swelling as well. So someone having skin removal after massive weight loss will likely have more swelling than someone having just a small amount of excess skin removed.
Most of the swelling will resolve after the first month. But it takes quite a while to completely go away. I tell patients to expect 90% of the swelling will be gone after three months. But it may be six months before the swelling completely resolves, and you see your final results.
As the swelling goes down the skin will relax a tiny bit. So your final result may not be quite as tight and flat as it was at a month out from surgery. This is part of the natural healing process, and is completely normal.
Long term results:
Our bodies naturally change over time, and this can affect tummy tuck results. If you lose more than 15-20 pounds after having a tummy tuck you may notice some loose skin. In contrast, if you gain weight it will stretch out your abdominal muscles and the skin. Consequently, you may have loose skin once you lose the weight
It’s best to wait to have tummy tuck surgery until you are finished having children. This is because pregnancy will stretch the abdominal muscles and skin back out as well. Things may shrink back up to some degree, but you’ll definitely undo some of what the tummy tuck accomplished
What if your weight is stable and you don’t get pregnant?
Even if you maintain a stable weight and don’t become pregnant, you will still see your tummy tuck results change over time. Skin still loses elasticity as we age, so you won’t have a perfectly flat tummy forever. But you will always have a flatter tummy than you would have without surgery. It’s also really common for women to get a little stubborn fat around the mid-section due to hormonal changes that occur around the time of menopause. Both liposuction or CoolSculpting are very effective treatments for this stubborn fat.
I hope you found the information on tummy tuck recovery helpful. If you’re not sure whether tummy tuck is the best option for you, take our flat tummy quiz now!
How Many Sizes Can You Lose With a Tummy Tuck?
Size Changes You Can Expect
This tummy tummy tuck cost is highly successful and does result in the removal of roughly 10 pounds of fat as well as inches from your abdominal area. You will be able to visibly see your weight drop as your body becomes slimmer and more streamlined. In most cases, you will also begin to notice that you are able to wear smaller clothing.
How many sizes you go down depends on where you started and how your body changes after the procedure. Most women lose between 2 and 3 pants sizes after a tuck, but there are patients who lose even more. If you had a lot of loose skin before the procedure, for example, you could go down 4 more pants sizes.
Flatter Stomach
In addition to losing pounds and pants sizes, another physical benefit of this procedure is that your abdomen will become flat and harder than it was before. Once those muscles have been tightened and the skin pulled back into place, you will no longer see the sagging you may have had previously. The line of your body will become smoother with fewer bumps or bulges
Most women find that their clothing fits better after the tuck, and they feel more comfortable in tight clothing or an outfit that shows the stomach. You may be comfortable wearing a bikini or a cropped shirt after the procedure even if you haven’t worn those styles in many years.
Better Bladder Control
Some women experience a lack of bladder control after pregnancy or simply because of aging. When the abdominal muscles are stretched, as they are during pregnancy, they can become weak. The tissue that supports other body parts in the area can become weak as well. This includes the tissues around the pelvic floor and vaginal region.
Tightening the muscles and tissue around this area helps to control a condition called stress urinary incontinence. That’s when your bladder leaks from a small amount of pressure caused by activities like exercise, coughing, sneezing, or even laughing. When the area around your bladder and pelvic floor are frightened, you get more control over the activity there.
Better Posture
The abdominal muscles are partially responsible for helping you stand up straight and tall. Sometimes weak muscles in the stomach can cause the back to bend forward. You may be regularly walking with a slight hunch to your posture and not even know it. Once those muscles are strong again, you will have the support to hold yourself more upright. This can even make you appear taller.
Higher Self-Esteem
The results in your appearance after this procedure may lead to a boost in confidence and self-image, especially if you have been feeling self-conscious about your weak abdominal muscles or the excess skin on your stomach. When you look amazing in tight clothing and are standing straighter and taller, you are naturally going to feel better about yourself.
Other people will not know that you’ve had the procedure unless you tell them. They may just think you’ve lost some weight. But they will notice your confidence and the change in the way you carry yourself. They will see that you are happy with yourself which will help lead to happiness in other parts of your life. Some people lose even more weight after the procedure because they are motivated to get healthier.
Why Do People Get Abdominoplasty Surgery?
Pregnancy
One major reason for this procedure is that women’s bodies change after pregnancy. The stomach muscles must stretch and grow in order to accommodate the child getting larger inside the womb, and that causes a lot of damage to the body. Some women’s bodies bounce quickly after pregnancy, and some are never the same.
Many women find it impossible to return their pre-pregnancy body shape even with extreme dieting and consistent exercise. That’s because some of the effects of pregnancy simply cannot be reversed through lifestyle changes. The skin in that area must be surgically tightened to see a difference.
Loose Skin From Weight Loss
Sometimes when people lose large amounts of fat, they leave behind loose pockets of skin. When an extreme amount of weight has been lost, there can be a great deal of skin left behind. The skin can be on any part of the body, but most of it tends to occur in the abdominal area.
Unfortunately, when people experience this issue, they are sometimes forced back into the same emotional problems they had before their weight loss. They may feel insecure about the way their bodies look, and they may be afraid to wear certain clothing or show skin. An abdominoplasty can bring people to a place where they can truly celebrate and show off their weight loss efforts.
Back Pain
Weak abdominal muscles often cause back pain. The back needs the muscles of the abdomen to support the entire upper body. When those muscles are weak, it causes strain to the back. Chronic pain can often be the result.
A tummy tuck kansas cost procedure will pull those muscles tighter and pressure will be relieved from the back. This can drastically reduce or even eliminate the back pain that resulted from a weak abdomen.
Scarring
People who have scarring from a previous medical procedure, particularly if the scar is vertical. Many women have found that the procedure successfully removed the scar from a Cesarean section birth. The abdominoplasty can also remove some other marks on the stomach like stretch marks, especially if they are below the belly button.
Ventral Hernia
A ventral hernia occurs when tissue is pushed through the abdominal muscles and can usually be detected went the muscles are strained such as during a cough. These hernias can be repaired, but they will often return. A tuck can be used to keep that from reoccurring by tightening the area so that the tissues cannot come through between the muscles.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Abdominoplasty?
Most healthy people can successfully have the procedure. Men do sometimes have a tummy tuck cost, but patients are usually women.
Before the Procedure
Consultation
The first step in the procedure is to have a consultation. We invite you to schedule a time to come into our office and talk with us about whether abdominoplasty is a good option for meeting your goals. We will talk to you about the procedure and answer any questions you might have. We will also make sure that you have realistic expectations and fully understand what the results will be.
We will also use the consultation to ask you some questions about yourself and your background. We will want to know if you exercise and whether or not you smoke. We will also ask about any previous surgeries you have had done, especially if they were in the abdominal area. We will ask you to list all of the medications you are taking and let us know if you have any kind of chronic or recurring illnesses.
Preparation
Before it is time for your tummy tuck cost procedure, you will have some tasks to complete. We will ask you to refrain from smoking if that is something you do. We may also ask you to stop taking certain types of medication for a period of time before the day of the surgery.
You will also need to prepare for your recovery. This will mean making arrangements for someone to drive you home after the procedure and stay with you during the first part of your recovery. You will need to take time off from work and be sure that all other responsibilities are met so you can focus completely on healing once the procedure is over.
The Procedure
You will come to our comfortable office where we will make sure you are ready for your abdominoplasty. We will give you a general anesthetic to keep you comfortable during the procedure. When you are ready, you will have several incisions made to remove the skin between your belly button and pubic hair in an elliptical shape. The fat underneath the skin will then be removed, revealing the abdominal muscle area.
The tissue over the abdominal muscles will be pulled tight with a series of sutures that will hold it into place. Then the skin around your belly button will be replaced, and your belly button will be put back into its original position with sutures. Any incisions will then be closed with sutures. This can take about 2 to 3 hours depending on how much work needs to be done.
Recovery
We will help make your recovery as quick and comfortable as possible. We may prescribe antibiotics to guard against infection. We will also provide you with an abdominal binder and show you how to wear it. This garment will support your abdominal area as it heals from the surgery. We will schedule you for several additional office visits to see how you are doing and to answer any questions that come up.
It will take several weeks before you can go back to all of your daily activities, but most people go back to office jobs after about 2 weeks. As your incisions heal, you will begin to see rapid changes in your body. After about 6 to 8 weeks, you will see excellent results.
How Long Does a Tummy Tuck Surgery Last
Your abdominoplasty is a permanent procedure. Any skin and fat that was removed will not return, and the sutures will stay in place indefinitely. You can, however, grow new fat cells and stretch the skin again. That’s why it is important to put in the work that will maintain your good results.
You will need to commit to a healthy lifestyle and take steps to make sure that you don’t gain weight that will cause the fat to be replaced and the muscles to stretch and weaken again. You will want to keep up an exercise routine designed to keep your muscles strong and working efficiently. Pregnancy will cause damage to the area and result in a loss of benefits, so it advised that you only have the procedure done when you are no longer planning to have children.