Abdominal reduction (Tummy tuck)

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Abdominal reduction is often called a “tummy tuck”. It is a surgical procedure that removes to remove surplus skin and fat from the middle and lower stomach and tightens the muscles of the abdominal wall. This procedure can markedly reduce the protruding stomach. However, it leaves a permanent scar that depends on the problem solved by this procedure.
If you are thinking about the abdominal reduction, this description can provide you with the information that you might need in order to know more about this procedure. Nevertheless, it will not give answers to all your questions because many things depend on individual patients and their surgeons.

The Best Candidates For Abdominoplasty
People who are in a good physical form but have problems with the skin that is loose or deposit make the biggest percent of patients in abdominal reduction procedures. Such procedures are very helpful to women who were pregnant more than once and their abdominal muscles and skin have become different from those that they had before. People who are older very often have these operations because their skin becomes not very elastic.
Patients who want to loose weight or women, who plan their future pregnancies, should wait because muscles that are tightened during these operations can separate during the pregnancy. Scars from earlier abdominal reduction procedures can become prominent and because of this surgeons can recommend to avoid abdominoplasty.
Abdominal reduction procedures can change your appearance but they can not change the way other people treat you. Before making such decisions about the operations think very carefully about its pluses and minuses, and discuses them with your surgeon.

Uncertainty and Risk
Every operation has its risks and abdominal reduction procedures are not an exception. Many operations of such kind are made every year all over the world and many of them are very successful. However, the risk about the process of the operation or further complications is always there.
Problems like infection or blood clots can appear very rarely. Infection can be cured with antibiotics but in that case you will have to stay in a hospital much longer. As for blood clots, this problem can be solved by the patient himself/herself if one starts to move after the operation as soon as possible. In addition, smokers have to stop because smoking increases the risk of complications. If you want to get well as soon as possible you have to follow your surgeon’s instructions before and after the operation.

Planning Your Surgery
Before an operation you will have a consultation with your surgeon. He or she will evaluate your health in all possible ways: define the extent of fat deposits in your abdominal area, etc. You have to tell your surgeon all the necessary information about your health and physical state.
You have to be honest with your surgeon while discussing the things that you expect from this operation. And the surgeon has to be honest with you; he or she has to stay all risks and alternatives about future procedure.
In cases when a patient has limited fat deposits to the area below the navel, a partial abdominoplasty may be needed. To create a better result some patients may need just a single liposuction; others may need partial or complete abdominal reduction together with the liposuction.

Preparing For Your Surgery
During the consultation your surgeon has to explain all aspects that are important during the operation: what kind of anesthesia, facilities and other things will be used. Also, he or she has to say the cost of such operation because mostly abdominal reduction procedures are not covered by the health insurance.
While preparing for your operation the surgeon has to give certain instructions about the preparation for this procedure. These are: guidelines about drinking, eating, smoking, taking vitamins or medicine.
Patient who smoke, have to quit one or two weeks before the operation and not to smoke one or two weeks after it. The overexposure to the sun or different diets can weaken your ability to heal faster.
It does not matter where and how your operation is done, you have to be sure that will be someone who will take you home and take care of you at least for few days after your operation.

The Surgery
The abdominal reduction procedure takes about two to five hours. Meanwhile, partial abdominal reduction procedure can take an hour or two.
The operation itself is not too complicated. Very often, the surgeon makes a long incision from hipbone, just above the pubic zone. Then, another incision is done to free the navel from surrounding tissue. While with partial abdominal reduction procedures, the incision is much shorter and the navel may not be moved.
After this, the surgeon separates the skin from abdominal wall up to ribs and lifts a big skin flap to reveal the vertical muscles in abdomen. They are pulled together and stitched into a new position in order to make them tighter. This makes abdominal wall firmer and waistline slimmer.
Then, the skin flap is extended down and the spare skin is removed. A new hole is made for a navel and after that it is stitched in place. Lastly, the incisions are stitched and dressings are made. Later, a temporary tube is inserted to drain surplus fluid.
When there is a case of partial abdominoplasty, the skin is separated only among the incision line and the navel. This skin flap is stretched down, the excess is removed, and the flap is stitched back.

After Your Surgery
The period after operation is very important. First few days the patient may feel the pain and discomfort that can be decreased by medicine. Depending on the success of the operation, the patient can be released within few hours or after few days.
Patient’s doctor has to give orders that are associated with showering or dressing. It is essential for a patient to start walking as soon as possible, even if it is difficult to do in the beginning. Surface stitches are removed in five to seven days, deeper ones - in two to three weeks.

Getting Back to Normal
The recovery process is quite long. It can last for several weeks or even months. If a patient is in a good physical condition and has strong abdominal muscles, this process will be much quicker.
Different exercises will make the healing process faster and will reduce the risk of appearance of swelling, blood clots or even tone muscles. However, there should be no dynamic exercises before the patient is able to do them at ease.
Scars after the operation can appear during first three or six months but this is normal. It takes from nine months to a year for scars to become less noticeable. They will not disappear completely but they will not be noticed under clothes or even under swimsuits.

Your New Look
It does not matter if abdominal reduction procedure is partial or complete; it gives the patient very good results. Mostly, these results are permanent if he or she obeys the instructions that a doctor provides.
If you know what you want and you are ready for disadvantages and long recovery periods, the abdominal reduction procedure is exactly what you need.

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