Tummy Tuck With Scoliosis>A strong core is the foundation for a strong body—and because a tummy tuck tightens the abdominal muscles, it will also make exercise easier and more pleasurable. With reduced fat and skin post-procedure, your range of motion will also improve, allowing you to expand your workout routine after healing is complete.
A tummy tuck can also help you maintain a stable weight: having a trimmer figure motivates many patients to follow a healthier diet and regular exercise routine. With fewer fat cells, you may also find that you feel full more quickly when eating; this is because decreasing your fat cells “lowers the volume” on the hormonal hunger messages they send to your hypothalamus. read more on liposuction scoliosis.
Tummy Tuck With Scoliosis
Many patients seek a tummy tuck to improve their appearance, but did you know that it can also help alleviate a variety of physical conditions? In this post, board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Schlesinger discusses eight lesser-known benefits of tummy tuck surgery.
Tummy tuck surgery can correct diastasis recti, an embarrassing condition in which the abdominal muscles separate, causing the stomach to protrude, even for thinner patients. Research suggests that as many as 60% of pregnant or postpartum women experience diastasis recti, thanks to the uterus pushing forward during pregnancy. These abdominal muscles rarely contract after childbirth, leading to a host of issues including incontinence, lower back pain, and reduced self-image. Men can get diastasis recti too: genetics, weight gain, and improper exercise are common contributing factors.
While physical therapy can help with strengthening the abdominal muscles, I am able to more fully correct diastasis recti during tummy tuck surgery, improving both the function and appearance of the abdomen. For women, the procedure is best done after you are finished having children to avoid causing the abdominal muscles to re-stretch.
Stress urinary incontinence is a condition in which an individual experiences uncontrollable leakage of the bladder, typically initiated by sneezing, coughing, laughing, or exercising. Stress urinary incontinence is caused by weak pelvic floor or sphincter muscles that don’t allow the urethra to close properly, causing urine leakage.
Men can also experience stress urinary incontinence, but it primarily affects women who have given vaginal birth. While traditional solutions such as midurethral sling surgery can successfully treat incontinence, tummy tuck surgery is also extremely effective when it comes to treating the condition (~90% improvement among my patients), with the added benefits of strengthening and shaping the abdomen.
. Reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes
Liposuction, a standard component of most tummy tuck procedures, can decrease the risk of adult-onset type 2 diabetes by reducing a person’s body fat. When you depopulate fat cells in the body, you decrease the work that the pancreas has to do. The pancreas is responsible for producing insulin, a hormone that helps our body digest glucose (blood sugar), so when the pancreas can more easily produce insulin, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes decreases.
Improve posture and reduce back pain
In addition to making you appear taller and slimmer, a tummy tuck can improve and prevent lower back pain. By increasing your core strength, you’ll naturally sit and stand straighter and refrain from slouching. As a personal example, I had a female patient with scoliosis referred to me by an orthopedic surgeon to have tummy tuck surgery to strengthen her core. While the surgeon’s hope was for the patient’s scoliosis to simply stabilize, we measured her spine with a scoliometer following surgery and found that her scoliosis had actually decreased.
Correct a ventral hernia
Ventral hernias occur when the abdominal organs break through the abdominal wall and form a sack, causing the lower belly to protrude. Ventral hernias develop when the abdominal muscles are weakened, typically from weight gain and loss, a C-section, or appendectomy. Tummy tuck surgery can repair a ventral hernia by returning the abdominal organs to their proper positions and repairing the weakened lower abdominal muscles.
Enhance sexual intercourse
Women coping with excess skin and fat following weight gain or pregnancy may find their vulva sinks lower down the body, obscuring the clitoris. A tummy tuck lifts tissues above this area and thus improves access to the clitoris, increasing friction and enhancing pleasure during sexual activities. Many of my female patients are pleasantly surprised by this added benefit of tummy tuck surgery.
Improve self-image
Since you will be shedding extra fat & skin and gaining a stronger core, many of my patients discover that tummy tuck surgery increases their confidence and self-image. Imagine being able to wear clothes that haven’t fit in years! You may also find yourself socializing more because you’ll feel more comfortable and confident in your body.
At the Breast Implant Center of Hawaii, I offer my patients the Ultimate Silhouettplasty, an advanced tummy tuck procedure that adds aggressive liposuction to remove any residual upper abdominal fat, as well as any stubborn fat and scar tissue around the waistline, after the initial skin excision and abdominal repair. This second-stage liposuction creates a cinched waistline that could not be achieved with a traditional tummy tuck.
Performing this liposuction after I’ve removed excess skin and tightened the abdominals allows me to remove more skin because I am able to retain horizontal blood supply, providing better results and enhancing patient safety.
Liposuction Scoliosis
Liposuction uses suction to remove fat from your body. The doctor puts a small, thin tube through very small cuts in the skin. Then the doctor moves the tube around under your skin to reach areas with more fat.
Liposuction is usually done in a doctor’s office, a surgery center, or a hospital. It can be major or minor surgery. It depends on how much fat is removed. You will probably go home after surgery. But if a lot of fat is removed, you may have to stay overnight.
You may be asleep for the surgery. Or you may get medicine to make you relax. Most of the time, the doctor gives you a shot to numb the area. This reduces pain and bleeding. The doctor may also use a laser or ultrasound to change the solid fat to liquid.
After the surgery, the area where the fat was removed will have some kind of wrap on it. You may have elastic bandages and tape on the area. Or you could have support hose, a girdle, or another type of tight clothing. These can help reduce swelling, bruising, and pain. You may have to keep the wrap on for 3 to 4 weeks. The area will probably be bruised and swollen for at least 10 to 14 days.
After several weeks of soft swelling, some areas may feel hard and lumpy. Your doctor may recommend massage to help take care of any lumps.
You can return to your normal activities when you feel comfortable. It may take several days to a few weeks. Most people can go back to light work in a few days. But sometimes it takes longer.
Why is liposuction done
Liposuction is typically used on “problem” areas that have not responded well to diet and exercise. These areas are often on the outer thighs and hips on women and the waist and back on men. The face, neck, abdomen, back, buttocks, legs, and upper arms are all commonly treated areas.
Liposuction may also be used to treat certain medical conditions, including:
- Benign fatty tumors (lipomas).
- Problems with metabolism of fat in the body (lipodystrophy)
- Excessive sweating in the armpit area (axillary hyperhidrosis)
Liposuction is not used to treat obesity. It will not get rid of cellulite or stretch marks.
What are the risks of liposuction
Liposuction done by an experienced doctor in a properly equipped facility is usually safe.
Common side effects of liposuction include:
- Temporary swelling, bruising, soreness, and numbness in and around the treated areas
- Irritation and minor scarring around the incision sites where the cannulas were inserted
- Baggy or rippling skin – The skin will usually tighten and retract after a few months. But in some people the skin may remain somewhat loose.
Less common side effects include:
Permanent color changes in the skin. Uneven skin surface over the treated area. Damage to the nerves and skin. The heat generated during ultrasound-assisted liposuction may burn the skin or damage the tissue under the skin.
If you gain weight after having liposuction, your body may store the new fat in a different place than where you had fat cells removed. New fat can grow deep inside your body, around your organs, such as your heart or liver.
Dangerous complications
Although death is very rare with liposuction, it can happen. If you are having a large amount of fat removed, are obese, or have health problems, your risks go up. Possible complications include:
- Excessive blood and fluid loss, leading to shock. But this is extremely unlikely.
- Buildup of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema). This is most likely to occur when a large volume of fluid is injected into the body.
- Infection.
- Toxic reaction to the injected solution (lidocaine toxicity), especially if large areas or many areas are treated at one time.
- A puncture into the cavity containing the abdominal organs or damage to an organ such as the spleen.