Optimizing Your Tummy Tuck Results

Thinking about that summer body?  One of the most common procedures that we perform is abdominoplasty surgery, aka the “tummy tuck”.  It is important to realize that undergoing plastic surgery is a partnership.  Not only do you place your trust in your surgeon, but your surgeon also trusts you that you will closely follow instructions they provide to help you obtain the best results possible.  But are there things that you can do before surgery to make sure you can achieve the best result possible?  Absolutely! 

Being in good health and obtaining your ideal body weight. 

Surgery is not a weight loss tool and often people are surprised how little the removed tissue weighs!  While being overweight when undergoing surgery is associated with a higher chance of complications there is no set “target” that is the same for everyone. Most important is that your weight is stable.  If you achieve a weight before surgery that is not sustainable, then if you gain that weight back after surgery, it can impact your results.  It is also important to be in good health.  Smoking or uncontrolled diabetes, for example, can drastically increase your chance of complications.

Work on core and pelvic strength.

If part of the reason you are seeking surgery is to repair a rectus diastasis (splitting of the muscles in the middle of the belly – usually due to pregnancy), it is important to know that a tight tucked looking tummy comes from both great core strength and repair of any diastasis.  While we can fix the gap, surgery does not strengthen your core muscles.  So basically if you want abs – you need to build up muscle strength first and then we just bring those muscles together!

Do your homework.

Understand what is involved with surgery.  No surgery is without trade-offs.  Other than the recovery period, the biggest trade off with tummy tucks is usually the scarring.  Usually this means a scar along the lower abdomen and around the belly button.  While these scars are fairly minimal once healed, they will always be visible. We often keep these scars quite low however this means if you are wearing a high cut bikini the scars might be visible.  You may need to adjust the clothing you wear after surgery if you wish to keep these scars hidden.