Tummy tuck surgery is a procedure that removes excess skin and fat from the abdomen and tightens the abdominal muscles. In the lower abdomen, the doctor will make an incision near the belly button and remove excess skin, fat, and tissue. The surgeon will then use sutures or stitches to tighten the muscles in this area, giving you a firmer tummy.
To help improve your overall body contour, your doctor may also perform liposuction on your lower back, hips, and thighs. The tummy tuck procedure is frequently combined with other procedures to improve overall contour, such as a breast lift or eyelid surgery.
Read on to learn more about How Do You Know If You Need A Tummy Tuck, Tummy Tuck Risks Of Death and Tummy Tuck Complications Years Later
How Do You Know If You Need A Tummy Tuck
Are you ready to have your pre-baby body back but discouraged that your diet and exercise efforts haven’t been effective? Or, have you lost a significant amount of weight only to find you have excess, loose skin that hasn’t “tightened up” with time? In either situation, it’s common to have skin that has been pushed past its elasticity limit and can no longer bounce back.
While liposuction can remove excess fat around the waistline and lower abdomen, it cannot remedy excess skin or weak muscles that allow your abdomen to bulge. At Southern Surgical Arts, we frequently combine liposculpture with a tummy tuck procedure, so that we can address lax skin and weak muscles with surgery, as well as create more beautiful contours via liposuction. The result is a beautiful, post-pregnancy or weight loss body that anybody would be proud to show off.
Keep reading to learn five signs that a tummy tuck might be appropriate for you.
Loose abdominal muscles. If your abdominal muscles seem resistant to exercise and are no longer providing the support you need, a tummy tuck surgery can address this problem. A skilled cosmetic surgeon can separate the layers of skin and fat from the muscle and then pull the muscles together at the midline, creating tighter, firmer muscles and a flatter stomach.
Extreme skin laxity and excess fat. If your skin has little to no elasticity left, you will likely need a tummy tuck to improve its appearance. Once skin has become lax and “stretched out,” even removing any fat behind it will not fix the situation. Skin laxity is not only caused by the stretching that occurs during pregnancy, it also can occur in people who have lost significant weight via dieting or gastric bypass. Tummy tucks are not just for mommies, but for anyone who has excess skin and fat—including men.
Still wearing maternity clothes months (or years) after giving birth. Celebrities’ careers depend on getting their pre-baby bellies back in record time, but that’s just not realistic for most of us. However, if after a year of dieting and exercise you haven’t seen any improvement and find wearing non-maternity clothes uncomfortable, you might wish to discuss a tummy tuck with a skilled cosmetic surgeon. Additionally, if you have slimmed down considerably after dieting or bypass surgery, you may be frustrated that you have lost so many pounds only to find your clothing options are still limited. A tummy tuck can make a huge difference in how you look in your clothes (as well as out of them!)
Significant stretch marks. Unfortunately, there is still no perfect solution for stretch marks. We can fade the color of new stretch marks significantly—and sometimes improve the texture of old ones—with devices like the Dermapen, but there is currently no treatment that can permanently erase them. However, if you have excess skin removed during a tummy tuck, most stretch marks will be removed as well. If there are any remaining stretch marks, they will likely be much lower on your abdomen where they are less visible. And, your beautiful new curves and sculpted muscles will draw attention away from them!
Decreased body confidence. One of the best reasons to have a tummy tuck may simply be that you do not feel confident about yourself and body. Decreased self-confidence can negatively impact your personal life, your sex life, and how you interact with others at work and play. It’s important to look and feel your best, and it may be hard to do that if you are feeling self-conscious and less than secure in your appearance.
You might be a candidate for a tummy tuck if you are:
Age 25 to 65
Non-smoker
Generally in good health
Desire a flatter stomach, stronger abdominal muscles and a more beautiful, sculpted waistline
The surgery is available for both men and women.
A tummy tuck can greatly boost your body-confidence and comfort, especially when performed by a qualified cosmetic surgeon with the ability to balance technique and artistry to achieve the most beautiful results. Dr. Carey Nease and Dr. Chad Deal are award-winning, board-certified cosmetic surgeons who have performed more than 700 tummy tuck procedures.
Tummy Tuck Risks Of Death
Abdominoplasty alone is considered a “major” surgical procedure in terms of risk and impact on normal homeostasis. Relative to other aesthetic surgical procedures, it is associated with higher rates of morbidity and morality, although with lower rates when compared with such reconstructive procedures as craniofacial surgery. According to Grazer and Goldwyn, it carries a mortality rate of 1:617 (.16 percent). about the same as that of hang gliding (1:600). A recent survey reported a rate as 1:2324 (.04 percent). The implication is that abdominoplasty has a significant and definable mortality risk associated with it; therefore, any additional procedure added to an abdominoplasty with further risk should caution the surgeon to minimize adverse outcomes before proceeding. Since not operating incurs no medical hardships, any further risks imposed by liposuction must be weighed by the physician and patient against potential gains.
Department of Plastic Surgery, Queen Mary’s Hospital, London
A 6-year retrospective series of 133 abdominoplasties was studied and type and incidence of complications are presented. From this series a group of 34 patients was re-examined between 4 and 10 1/2 years postoperatively and conclusions were made from this long-term follow-up. A high incidence of injury to the lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh was recorded. A blood transfusion was required in 19% of the cases, the average hospitalization was 12.4 days and the complication rate ranged between 24% in those who did not attend review and 65% in those who were re-examined. Objectively judged, 55% of the patients had excellent or good results, but subjective patient satisfaction was nearly 90%.
A Safer Alternative
We recommend instead the Yoho Method “No Scalpel Tummy Tuck”, done with liposuction, which in most cases gives you a much better result with skin shrinkage and almost no scarring. If you are indeed a tummy tuck candidate, we will tell you. For more information, read “Liposuction vs. Tummy Tucks”.
Tummy Tuck Complications Years Later
Abdominoplasty—sometimes called “tummy tuck”—has a higher risk of major complications than other cosmetic plastic surgery procedures, reports a study in the November issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Complication risk is particularly high for the large proportion of patients undergoing abdominoplasty in combination with other procedures, according to an analysis of nationwide data by Dr. Julian Winocour of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, and colleagues. They write, “Combined procedures can significantly increase complication rates and should be considered carefully in higher-risk patients.”
Database Shows High Risk of Major Complications after Abdominoplasty
The researchers assessed abdominoplasty complication rates and risk factors using the nationwide CosmetAssure database. CosmetAssure is an insurance program providing coverage for complications related to cosmetic plastic surgery procedures, which are typically not covered by health insurance.
The study included nearly 25,000 abdominoplasties performed between 2008 and 2013, representing about 14 percent of all procedures in the database. Abdominoplasty is done to remove excess skin and tissue from the abdomen, to create a smoother, firmer abdominal profile.
Ninety-seven percent of abdominoplasty patients were women; the average age was 42 years. Sixty-five percent of patients underwent abdominoplasty combined with other cosmetic surgery procedures.
Overall, major complications occurred in four percent of patients undergoing abdominoplasty—significantly higher than the 1.4 percent rate after other cosmetic surgery procedures. (The database didn’t include less-serious complications that can be managed in the clinic). Hematomas (blood collections) were the most common major complication, followed by infections, blood clots (venous thromboembolism), and lung-related problems.
Combined procedures were a key risk factor for complications. Compared to the 3.1 percent rate with abdominoplasty alone, risk increased when abdominoplasty was combined with other procedures: up to 10.4 percent when abdominoplasty was combined with body contouring plus liposuction. After adjustment for other factors, the relative risk of major complications was 50 percent higher with combined procedures.
Other risk factors for major complications included male sex, age 55 years or older, and obesity. Risk was lower when abdominoplasty was performed in an office-based surgical suite, compared to a hospital or surgical center. Dr. Winocour comments, “Surgeons often refer patients with major illnesses, such as heart disease, to hospitals, which may be responsible for this observed trend in complications.”
Diabetes and smoking—two major surgical risk factors—were not associated with a significant increase in complications after abdominoplasty. “That likely reflected Board-certified plastic surgeons’ practice of not offering abdominoplasty to poorly controlled diabetics and recommending strict smoking cessation for at least four weeks before and after surgery,” Dr. Wincour adds.
Abdominoplasty is the sixth most common cosmetic surgical procedure performed in the United States, with more than 117,000 procedures performed in 2014, according to ASPS statistics. The number of abdominoplasties has increased in recent years—partly because of the increased number of patients undergoing body contouring surgery to remove excess skin and tissue after massive weight loss.
The study adds to previous evidence that abdominoplasty carries a higher complication rate than other cosmetic plastic surgery procedures. “Although the overall incidence of major complications is low, such complications can leave a potentially devastating cosmetic outcome and pose a significant financial burden on the patient and surgeon,” the researchers write.
They draw special attention to the risk associated with multiple procedures—especially since nearly two-thirds of patients in the database underwent other cosmetic procedures combined with abdominoplasty. Dr. Winocour and colleagues suggest that some patients at high risk of complications might be better off undergoing staged rather than combination procedures.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® is published by Wolters Kluwer.
About Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
For over 75 years, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® has been the one consistently excellent reference for every specialist who uses plastic surgery techniques or works in conjunction with a plastic surgeon. The official journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® brings subscribers up-to-the-minute reports on the latest techniques and follow-up for all areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery, including breast reconstruction, experimental studies, maxillofacial reconstruction, hand and microsurgery, burn repair and cosmetic surgery, as well as news on medico-legal issues.
About ASPS
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is the largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons in the world. Representing more than 7,000 physician members, the society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. ASPS comprises more than 93 percent of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States. Founded in 1931, the society represents physicians certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.