Tummy Tuck
A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, removes excess skin and tightens stretched abdominal muscles to help create a flatter, firmer torso when exercise and weight control alone cannot get you there.
What a Tummy Tuck Can Do
A tummy tuck is a cosmetic procedure designed primarily to improve the appearance of the torso. It often includes tightening the abdominal muscles, which are commonly stretched during pregnancy, along with removing excess skin from the lower abdomen.
Many of us work toward a flat, well-toned abdomen through exercise and weight control, and sometimes those methods cannot finish the job. A tummy tuck can address what remains, though it is not a substitute for weight loss or an appropriate exercise program.
Muscle Repair
Tightens abdominal muscles stretched by pregnancy, creating a tighter, firmer abdominal wall.
Excess Skin Removal
Removes loose lower-abdominal skin that exercise and weight control cannot correct.
Outpatient or Overnight
Performed as an outpatient procedure or with one night in the hospital, depending on the extent of correction.
Are You a Candidate?
The best way to find out is a consultation. Your surgeon will examine your abdomen, ask about your goals, and walk through the potential risks and complications with you. In general, you may be a good candidate if:
- You are physically healthy and at a stable weight
- You have realistic expectations for what surgery can achieve
- You are a nonsmoker
- You are bothered by the appearance of your abdomen
- You are done having children, since muscle repair can make future pregnancies more difficult
The Tummy Tuck Procedure
Your surgeon makes an incision in the lower abdomen, just above the pubic area, then separates the skin from the underlying abdominal muscles and stitches those muscles together to create a tighter, firmer abdominal wall. Excess skin is removed and the incisions are closed with stitches.
The length of surgery depends on how much correction is needed. A full tummy tuck may also involve:
- Releasing excess skin and fat from the bottom of the ribs to maximize tightening and contouring
- Tightening the rectus muscles and the fibrous fascia that surrounds them
- Reconstructing the belly button
- Liposuction of the flanks
Tummy Tuck vs. Panniculectomy
The two procedures are easy to confuse, and the distinction matters more as weight loss surgery grows in popularity. A tummy tuck is a cosmetic procedure, so insurance does not cover it. A panniculectomy is functional, not cosmetic.
A panniculectomy removes the panniculus, the overhanging lower-abdominal skin that often follows major weight loss. It is designed to relieve the health problems that skin causes, not to improve your overall body shape, and it occasionally requires removing (not repositioning) the belly button when displacement is severe.
Health problems that most often lead to insurance approval for a panniculectomy include:
- Skin irritation under the panniculus
- Cellulitis
- Skin erosion
- Interference with typical daily activities
Body Contouring After Massive Weight Loss
Losing a significant amount of weight through diet, exercise, weight loss medications such as GLP-1s, or surgery such as gastric bypass, banding, or stapling often leaves moderate to severe excess skin around the trunk and extremities. That tissue can be uncomfortable, make clothing difficult to fit, invite infections and rashes, and cause real emotional distress.
Because each area affects its neighbor, we contour centrally and work outward: first the lower trunk, then the upper trunk and breasts, then the extremities and face. Multiple areas can be mapped out at your first consultation. Generally, only panniculectomies and breast reductions are covered by insurance; other contouring procedures are considered cosmetic.
Common recontouring procedures include:
- Panniculectomy or abdominoplasty, the most common contouring procedure, with a very high satisfaction rate
- Circumferential body lift, an abdominoplasty combined with hip and back excision that lifts the buttocks
- Breast reduction or breast lift to reshape, lift, or reduce the breasts
- Brachioplasty to remove hanging skin of the upper arms
- Thigh lift, with several techniques for loose, hanging thigh skin
Recovering From a Tummy Tuck
Expect some discomfort and swelling at first. Your surgeon will prescribe pain medication to keep you comfortable.
You will wear a compression garment for several weeks to minimize swelling and support your healing abdomen.
Your timeline depends on the extent of correction, so your surgeon will guide your return to activity.
“Amazing! I could not believe the difference between my before and after photos. Dr. Rishavy performed an artistic miracle. I had no idea I had a shape under all of that skin! The staff was very compassionate; never did I feel uncomfortable.”
Monica · Tummy Tuck Patient
Monica struggled with her weight for years. By age 34 she weighed 298 pounds and decided to undergo bariatric surgery. A year after her gastric bypass she had lost 125 pounds, but long folds of hanging skin and soft tissue still weighed on her body image. After consulting with us, she moved forward with a lower body lift. We removed excess skin and tissue from her lower abdomen, flanks, and back and recontoured her torso. Today Monica enjoys the health and emotional benefits of reduced weight, improved body image, and increased energy.