For many, one of the most unbearable signs of aging is a sagging abdomen. The condition often stems from carrying one more children to term or following significant weight loss. If you’re upset with the current state of your belly, a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) from Real Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery in Moonee Ponds, VIC may be the answer you’re looking for.
What Is a Tummy Tuck?
Tummy tuck is an elective surgical procedure that seeks to tighten and reshape your current abdominal area into one that is more aesthetically pleasing. Undergoing the procedure can create a much firmer abdomen and drastically improve the way you look and feel.
While undergoing the procedure, the muscles of your abdominal wall will be tightened with sutures, and the loose, sagging skin will be removed. Doing so may correct your protruding belly and likely provide you with a belly that’s much more flat and toned. The procedure is popular among both men and women who are looking to significantly improve their appearance.
Who Might Be a Good Candidate for a Tummy Tuck?
Generally speaking, a good candidate is a man or woman in good health, a non-smoker, within 20% of their ideal body weight, and has loose abdominal muscles, loose skin, and excess fat deposits that they want to be removed.
Are You Experiencing Exercise Plateaus?
If you’ve been diligently exercising in an effort to lose weight and you can’t seem to get rid of those last few pounds, a tummy tuck may be for you. Diet and exercise are considered the gold standard when it comes to weight loss. While a healthy diet and regular exercise can provide significant improvement in your health and on your body, they often can’t get you all the way to where you want to be.
It can be frustrating to be so close to your goal and yet be unable to reach it. Choosing to undergo the procedure can help you shed those last few pounds, helping you look and feel better about yourself.
Pregnancy Altered Your Shape
Anyone who has ever been pregnant knows that pregnancy can seriously alter the shape of your body. It can cause weight gain, causes a change in the size of your breasts, hips, and/or belly, and the ebb and flow of the hormonal tide can be hard to endure.
Abdominoplasty works to address some of the conditions that pregnancy can cause – specifically as it applies to your abdomen. Pregnancy stretches out the muscles of your abdominal wall and often leaves you with stretch marks and excess skin once you’ve given birth. If you’re dissatisfied with your post-pregnancy abdomen, a tummy tuck may be able to change it.
Genetics Are Causing Your Belly
Sometimes no matter how much a person exercises or what kind of shape they’re in, they always have a bit of a belly because they’re genetically predisposed to its formation. For some people this is fine; they feel great from regular exercising and don’t mind a bit of a protrusion.
However, others want the time they spend in the gym to be reflected in their appearance, and an exercise and diet-resistant abdomen aren’t going to cut it. When exercise and diet don’t seem to work, you may be battling your genetics.
Not everyone who undergoes an abdominoplasty procedure does so because they have a significant amount of excess skin and fat that they want to be removed. Some avid gym goers choose to undergo the procedure to put the “finishing touch” on the physique they worked so hard for.
The Types of Abdominoplasty
People are all different: different bodies, different weights, and different needs. When someone contacts us to inquire about an abdominoplasty, our surgeon Mr. Salerno listens to their desires and concerns and can recommend the type of procedure that will best help achieve their desired cosmetic goals.
Mini-Abdominoplasty
This procedure involves less extensive surgery than a traditional abdominoplasty and focuses primarily on your lower abdomen. A patient whose primary concern is a bit of a belly, loose skin, or stretch marks in their lower abdomen might look into the mini procedure to address their goals.
This technique typically involves a single incision made just above the pubic mound. Your surgeon will tighten your loose abdominal muscles and remove excess skin to create a smoother, firmer abdominal wall.
Traditional Abdominoplasty
Unlike the mini option, a traditional abdominoplasty seeks to improve both the lower and upper abdomen. If you’re experiencing significant roundness and excess skin folds both above and below your belly button.
A U-shaped incision is made just above your pubic mound through which your surgeon will remove excess skin and tighten the abdominal muscles. Sometimes, a second incision is made around your belly button to remove the excess skin above it to yield the best results.
Extended Abdominoplasty Procedure
The extended procedure addresses your upper and lower abdomen as well as your flanks. The extended procedure is excellent if you’re someone who has lost a lot of weight and is now suffering from loose skin hanging around your abdomen and hips. It can also benefit someone who has experienced several pregnancies.
The extended procedure does involve a larger incision, but through it, your surgeon will be able to tighten your abdominal wall and remove excess skin on your upper and lower abdomen as well as your hips, which can help provide a thinner, firmer, shapelier physique for your midsection.
The Benefits of a Tummy Tuck
Often, the primary goal of someone looking to undergo an abdominoplasty procedure is to improve their aesthetic appeal. They want tighter, firmer abs, the removal of loose skin and stretch marks, and a more appealing physique.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with undergoing the procedure to achieve purely cosmetic goals. But, even if you do, you may reap a few medical benefits of a tummy tuck that you didn’t know existed.
Improved Posture
When you have significant excess abdominal skin and you combine it with a weak abdominal wall, you will almost always end up with at least a little bit of stomach muscle distension. Diet and exercise alone will not help you correct the resulting effects on your body. The primary benefit for anyone who has a distended stomach will be the tightening of their abdominal wall muscles. However, there are more than just cosmetic benefits when you tighten your abdominal wall muscles.
Lower back pain is a common problem faced by many men and women. If you’ve gone through week after week trying to strengthen your back and remedy the pain there, you may be wasting your energy. A sore lower back is often the result of weak abdominal muscles. Tightening these muscles through surgery can possibly have a positive effect on your lower back pain.
Correct Ventral Hernias
A ventral hernia is a condition that occurs when abdominal tissue or the intestine penetrates the abdominal wall. It usually results in a painful sack or pocket on the abdomen and is most often caused by swift weight loss, C-sections, and appendectomies.
When someone is experiencing a ventral hernia, they probably aren’t thinking about getting a cosmetic procedure done. They want something that will address their pain. Still, we often recommend getting an abdominoplasty while your hernia is being repaired. Even if you’re someone who doesn’t have any excess skin or a protruding abdomen, tightening your abdominal wall via abdominoplasty can help ensure you avoid a second hernia.
Self-Confidence Could Skyrocket
There are many factors that can contribute to feeling bad about your appearance. Maybe you’ve had several children and no longer feel attractive due to the pregnancies and their effects on their bodies. Maybe you’ve lost weight and can’t wait to hit the beach, but excess skin and stretch marks have you fearful of removing your shirt.
Choosing to undergo an abdominoplasty procedure can help you enjoy the tight skin and sexy abdomen that your weight gain (or pregnancies) have obscured.
May Help Reduce Stress Urinary Incontinence
Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) is a condition where there is too much pressure on the bladder and urethra. People who suffer from SUI often experience uncontrollable urine leakage due to sneezing, coughing, laughing, or other forceful actions.
For the most part, SUI is treated without surgery. However, a growing body of research has been showing that a tummy tuck may be able to improve the condition of patients experiencing SUI.
Is an Abdominoplasty Effective for Weight Loss?
One of the most common questions regarding the procedure is how effective it is at helping patients lose weight. While you will lose a bit of weight, the procedure is not meant to provide a significant amount of weight loss.
Undergoing the procedure while you have a large amount of weight to lose will seriously impact the results you’re going to see. If you continue to lose weight, you’ll end up with additional loose skin and (possibly) stretch marks that you will probably want to remove later. To help you get the best results possible, don’t think of the procedure as a vehicle for weight loss. Think of it as putting the polish on a body you worked hard to achieve.
Can You Pair Procedures With an Abdominoplasty?
Sometimes patients interested in improving their physique can do so with an abdominoplasty alone. For other patients, more extensive work is needed to meet their aesthetic goals. For example, it isn’t uncommon to undergo a breast reduction or augmentation to further enhance their body. Liposuction is also a popular procedure to pair with an abdominoplasty.
Liposuction is popular because it provides benefits in two ways. First, you can reduce the amount of fat in one area of your body by having it removed. The second benefit is that you can remove fat from one area and use it to augment another (such as your breasts or buttocks).
How Can You Maintain Your Results?
The procedure is technically permanent, as the loose skin and/or fat that is removed are gone forever. But, to help ensure your procedure really is permanent, you may need to add in regular exercise and a healthy diet to your daily routine if you haven’t already.
If you gain significant weight after the procedure, you may experience the reappearance of stretch marks and a protruding abdomen. If you’re unsure of how to maintain your weight, Mr. Salerno will be happy to make suggestions for you.
Is a Tummy Tuck the Right Option for You?
This procedure is designed to address loose excess skin and stretch marks, tighten your abdominal wall muscles, and in some cases, contour your flanks. It won’t help you lose a significant amount of weight, but it can help you obtain the physique that diet and exercise alone will not.
If you have any questions or concerns, or if you’d like to speak directly with one of our aesthetic professionals, call Real Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery in Moonee Ponds, VIC and Melbourne today at 03-8609-8363.
