Tummy tuck (Abdominoplasty)

A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, is a procedure designed to remove the lower abdominal roll (pannus) and flatten the abdomen.  It flattens both the upper and lower abdomen. The belly button (umbilicus) remains in place, and the shape of the belly button is often improved. If the abdominal muscles are separated (diastasis), this is also addressed by retightening the muscles. Tummy tuck is usually indicated when there is excessive skin roll to the lower abdomen following pregnancy or weight loss. It helps remove and reduce stretch marks. It involves an incision to the lower abdomen from hip to hip, and a circular incision around the belly button. A drain is placed for one to two weeks, and the patient wears and abdominal binder for one month.

Liposuction, which is a procedure to remove fat only and not skin, may be performed in addition to abdominoplasty. Sometimes a patient comes in requesting abdominal liposuction, but the amount of skin excess (pannus) is too great, or there are significant stretch marks to the abdominal skin, so the doctor will often recommend skin removal and retightening instead of liposuction. An alternative procedure to correct lower abdominal skin excess, when the upper abdominal skin and contour are satisfactory to the patient, is a mini-abdominoplasty. In this procedure, the lower abdominal skin is removed, while the remainder of the abdominal area is treated with liposuction. The incision is smaller to the lower abdomen, no drain is required, and the patient wears and abdominal binder for one month.