Tummy Tuck

A tummy tuck – or Abdominoplasty to use the correct term – is a cosmetic surgery procedure used to make the abdomen firmer. It’s usually sought by patients with loose tissue and muscles after pregnancy, or by people who’ve lost a lot of weight and found everything is, well…sagging.

Not surprisingly, people who find themselves with a tummy which isn’t what it once was can be very unhappy, and there seems to come a point where diet and exercise just don’t work any more.

The surgery involves removing excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen, in order to tighten the muscle and fascia of the abdominal wall. Depending on how much work needs to be done, the procedure can take anything from 1-2 hours up to five hours. But it’s a very well established procedure now, and complications are rare.

Recovery time is generally up to a month, and it’s sensible to take some of this time off work, and to make sure that you avoid a lot of physical activity.

Increasingly, a tummy tuck is a procedure that is being used alongside other cosmetic surgery operations. It’s not unusual to find a tummy tuck used in conjunction with liposuction to both remove fat from the abdomen, and to firm up the stomach after the fat has been removed.

It might also be used with a breast reduction procedure, or breast uplift. This combination is common after pregnancy – hence the colloquial term ‘mommy makeover.’

No-one wants to look at their wardrobe and realise that none of their clothes fit any more. Or have to think of a reason why you can’t go to the beach with the rest of the family. That’s why more and more people are deciding that a tummy tuck is the answer – a simple procedure that can restore the shape you thought was gone for ever.