What is Abdominoplasty
An Overview
Abdominoplasty, commonly known as Tummy Tuck is a cosmetic and surgical procedure in which -
- The loose, sagging skin on your stomach area is removed along with the excess fat
- The stomach wall muscles may also be tightened by the surgeon
- The purpose is to give you a firmer and flatter belly and a smaller waist size.
Mostly, the procedure is opted for aesthetic purposes and sometimes as a reconstructive procedure as well. (More on that later).
Ask women who have gone through multiple pregnancies or someone you know who has achieved a major weight loss! After going through such a ’stretch and release’, the tummy comes off hanging with lot of loose skin, stretch marks and pockets of stubborn fat which won’t burn even after proper dieting and exercise.
Pregnancy and Obesity both stretch the skin and the muscle structures of the abdominal wall beyond their natural capacity to spring back. The result is thinning and weakening of these structures. After delivery or a massive weight loss ( from dieting or after a gastric bypass surgery) if the skin has not retracted back to normal in approximately 6 months, it probably will not.
A Tummy Tuck or Abdominoplasty is what acts as a facelift for your abdomen area and helps you get back in some shape. In medical parlance, “it would remove the abdominal deformity of excess skin, subcutaneous tissue and laxity of the abdominal wall musculature.” In simpler terms, you can expect to see and feel the following changes from a successful Abdominoplasty or Tummy Tuck-
- Reasonable improvement in the looks and appearance of your tummy.
- A Firmer Abdominal Profile.
- Smoother and Tighter skin on the stomach.
- Tightened Stomach muscles
- A smaller waist size
- Well shaped thighs (if included in the surgery)
- Overall, A well contoured body
- And last but not the least, one or more scars on your tummy. (Depending on the exact procedure followed e.g. Complete Abdominoplasty, Partial Abdominoplasty, Combination Surgeries … but more on these later.)
