Click Here to View Before and After Photos of Abdominoplasty Patients.

Quite often all the exercise and dieting in the world cannot get rid of the tummy pouch that results from a lifetime of weight fluctuations or pregnancy. The body changes that a woman experiences to her mid-section with one pregnancy, much less multiple pregnancies, can cause a lot of damage such as sagging skin, stretch marks, and even muscle separation (rectus diastasis) in the abdominal area. A tummy tuck or abdominoplasty will correct this. However, a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty is not only for postpartum women or after childbirth. The procedure can improve the appearance of excess abdominal fat, skin and tissue in any healthy adult.

Abdominoplasty or Tummy Tuck is a common surgical procedure performed on women following childbirth in order to contour and reshape the abdomen and flanks by contouring excessive fat, removing excess skin that may have striae or stretch marks and by tightening loose abdominal muscles. Women who plan to have additional children in the near future should postpone having an abdominoplasty as an additional pregnancy will "stretch out" or separate the abdominal muscles too much and may stretch out the skin.

The procedure may also be performed on men who have lost significant amounts of weight by diet and exercise or following gastric bypass procedures. Some of these patients may not require tightening of the abdominal muscles.

A full abdominoplasty or tummy tuck requires an incision form hip to hip in the shape of a smile. This is recommended when the patient has more than just a bulge. If sagging skin extends up to or above the belly button, it can only be corrected by an additional incision around the navel. When the skin around the navel is released, the upper abdominal skin is pulled downward, and a new opening for one's native belly button stalk is created. On occasion, a patient may present with only a small to moderate amount of skin excess mostly in the upper abdomen and is not a candidate for a mini-abdominoplasty, these patients may require an incision from hip to hip in addition to a short vertical incision from below the navel to the horizontal incision to close the hole from the original navel.

Tumescent liposuction using the power assisted liposuction technique is usually performed in conjunction with an abdominoplasty in order to achieve better contour of the waist and flanks.

A mini-abdominoplasty (mini tummy tuck) may be performed if a patient has excessive abdominal fatty deposits but only has minimal excess skin of the lower abdomen and slight muscle laxity of the lower abdomen. This procedure is usually performed with comprehensive liposuction of the abdomen, waist and flanks.

A panniculectomy is often confused with a tummy tuck. It reduces the excess skin and fat, which hang below the abdomen like an apron. The degree of overhang can be moderate, with the folds hanging down to just above the pubic region, or much more severe. A tummy tuck is performed on people of relatively normal weight, while a panniculectomy is performed on patients with weight ranges from normal to severely obese, and who have lost significant weight. The reduction of excess fat and skin through panniculectomy can greatly improve quality of life, reduce the stress and back pain caused by this terribly disfiguring condition and enhance personal hygiene.

Click Here to View Before and After Photos of Abdominoplasty Patients.