Plastic Surgery Basics – The 411 on Abdominoplasty

Abdominoplasty is a procedure that makes the abdomen more firm by removing excessive fatty tissue and skin – most of us refer to this as a tummy tuck.

The process results in tightening of the muscle and the fascia of the abdominal wall and is often performed on women who have loose tissues due to pregnancy and those individuals who have sagging after major weight loss. The operations themselves vary in their scope and are divided into categories depending on the extent of the surgery.

A complete abdominoplasty can take from one to five hours, a partial abdominoplasty or mini tuck can be done in one, perhaps two hours.A full or mini tummy tuck involves an incision  made from hip to hip just above the pubic area, another incision  made to free the navel from the surrounding skin, detachment of the skin from the abdominal wall to reveal the muscles and fascia to be tightened and tightening of the muscle fascia wall  with sutures. The remaining skin and fat are tightened by removing the excess and closing the opening. The old belly button stalk will be  brought out through a new hole and sutured into place.

It is also common for liposuction to be used to refine the transition zones of the abdominal sculpture. A dressing and sometime a compression garment are applied and  excess fluid is drained from the suite.With the mini or partial abdominoplasty a smaller incision is made, the skin and fat of the lower abdomen are detached in a more limited manner from the muscle fascia, the skin is stretched down and the excess skin is  removed. Sometimes the belly button stalk is divided from the muscle below and the belly button slid down lower on the abdominal wall. At times a portion of the abdominal muscle fascia wall is tightened. As with a full abdominoplasty liposuction is often used to contour the transition zone. The flap is stitched back into place. Abdominoplasty is a component of a procedure called a lower body lift and it can be combined with breast reduction, breast lift, liposuction or hysterectomy, depending of course on the reason for the hysterectomy.

As with any type of surgery the best candidates are those who are in good physical, mental and emotional health and have reasonable expectations of the result to be achieved. As with any type of cosmetic surgery a board certified plastic surgeon should be consulted before making final decisions.