Abdominoplasty

Tummy tuck, also known as Abdominoplasty, helps to significantly reduce the appearance of a protruding abdomen, loose skin, and stretch marks in the abdominal area. As one of top five plastic surgery procedures, many people turn to a tummy tuck as a result of pregnancy, genetics, age or obesity when the muscles in the abdominal wall have weakened and weight loss cannot be achieved through diet or exercise. The ideal candidate for abdominoplasty surgery is a patient who is in excellent physical and emotional health. Both men and women who are in relatively good shape, but are dissatisfied with the appearance of their midsection, can make great candidates for abdominoplasty surgery. Some people develop stubborn pockets of fat or loose skin that does not respond to diet or exercise. Women who've triumphed through multiple pregnancies may find that their midsection is not as aesthetically pleasing as it once was. Aging can cause a reduction in the skin's elasticity, causing excess skin to sag in the belly area. For these people, an abdominoplasy can be an excellent surgical option

 

Surgical Procedure

To smooth out the abdomen, the surgeon makes a low abdominal incision across the pubic area, from hip to hip, and sometimes from the navel down. The excess skin together with the subcutaneous fat is then pulled over the abdomen, cut and removed. The navel remains intact and attached to the abdominal wall so the surgeon must make a new opening that is the new proper position. If loose skin and muscle weakness are limited to the area below the navel, a slightly different procedure - which usually leaves a smaller scar and no scarring around the navel - may be performed. Abdominoplasty can be combined with liposuction to help reduce the areas of fat accumulation. The skin and fat excision is sometimes called Panniculectomy but many times the surgeon will have to include repairing the separated abdominal wall muscle that could positively help tighten the bulging of viscera which could not be corrected by Panniculectomy only. It may take you weeks or months to feel like your old self again. If you start out in top physical condition with strong abdominal muscles, recovery from abdominoplasty will be much faster. Silocone Sheeting and scar Creams can greatly assist in the fading of scars. While they'll never disappear completely, abdominal scars will not show under most clothing, even under bathing suits. A surgical compression support garment must be worn for approximately 3 months to support the tightened area following surgery.

 

Risk

Risks are inherent to any surgical procedure. The most common risks are swelling, bruising, bleeding, infection, fluid, scarring, numbness, or a loss of sensation to the affected area - this should improve after nerve damage has repaired itself, which may take up to 12 months. All precautions are taken to avoid these risks. The most common risk particular to this surgery is long and heavy scarring. The incision may heal slowly causing crusting and scabbing along the scar. All precautions are taken to avoid these risks. Once the healing process is complete, it is essential to maintain a balanced diet. An unhealthy diet will invariably lead to weight gain which will stretch the skin and increase the possibility of heavy, permanent scarring. In most cases abdominoplasty produces excellent results, and with a balanced diet and regular exercise, the results are long lasting.

 

Surgery

 

Duration of Operation: 2 to 5 hours
Anesthesia: General anesthesia
Duration in Thailand: 14 Days
Hospital Admission: 4 Days