Many people hesitate to pursue a tummy tuck because they have seen a lot of before and after pictures and they worry about the scarring. Some of the improvements from a tummy tuck will be obvious right away, but because of the swelling the final result will take some time to become apparent. Patients usually come back at this point saying their clothes are fitting much more loosely, or they have gone down in waist or dress size. At about 2 weeks, the swelling will start to improve, but it takes about 6-8 weeks for the majority of the swelling to resolve. ![]() Some patients can’t fit into the pants or shorts they were wearing before surgery due to swelling even though a large amount of skin and fat was removed. This is particularly true in the lower abdomen. Slack asks his patients to avoid any heavy weight lifting and abdominal exercises for 6 weeks.Ībdominal swelling is significant after surgery. Exercise is limited to walking the first 2-3 weeks this is gradually increased depending on how you are doing. Slack suggests planning on taking 2 weeks off from work if you have a desk job longer (4-6 weeks) if your job requires more strenuous activity. By two weeks, almost all patients are walking upright and are driving themselves. This is one less obstacle to getting back to your normal routine.ĭue to a combination of lower abdominal tightness from the surgery and post-operative swelling, most patients will walk a little bent over for the first 7-10 days. This procedures uses specialized progressive tension sutures remove the need for drains to remain in the surgical incision during the recovery period. Slack offers a “drainless” tummy tuck for his patients. Early mobilization is important in preventing the formation of blood clots and in speeding up the recovery process.ĭr. This includes getting up and down to go to the bathroom, moving from the bed to a recliner, and as you are able, moving around the house. Slack encourages patients to get up and move around a little during the early post-operative period. Physical activity will be limited, but Dr. For the first 3-5 days, most of your time will be spent in bed or a recliner. Recovery after a Tummy TuckĪ full tummy tuck has a significant recovery period. It involves taking the time to listen to you and to understand your goals, as well as spending the necessary time to educate you before any incisions are made. Slack’s role involves more than just performing the surgical procedure. With more extensive surgery, the incisions are longer, and the recovery is typically more difficult.Ĭhoosing the appropriate procedure depends on your goals, your unique anatomic issues, and the specific trade-offs, risks, and recovery associated with each procedure that you are willing to accept. In general, the more tissue that is removed the tighter the abdomen becomes and the better the overall result. Similarly, there are differences in the extent of muscle tightening and length and location of incisions, as well as the areas and amount of liposuction that can be safely performed with each procedure. Loose skin in the mid and upper abdomen requires a full abdominoplasty to get meaningful tightening, but a small amount of skin overhanging a caesarean section scar can be improved with a mini or modified abdominoplasty. ![]() If one of your goals is to remove stretch marks on your lower abdomen that extend all the way to your navel, a mini or modified abdominoplasty won’t accomplish this goal. A mini or modified abdominoplasty removes a smaller amount of skin and fat from the lower abdomen well below the navel. Although each of these procedures involves the surgical removal of skin and fat from the abdomen and in some cases the tightening of abdominal muscles, they differ in the manner and the extent to which they address each of these areas.įor instance, with a full abdominoplasty all of the skin and underlying fat from just above the navel down to the pubic area is removed. Tummy Tuck ProcedureĪ number of different tummy tuck procedures are available, such as mini, modified, or full tummy tucks. Charles Slack, a board-certified plastic surgeon, offers the tummy tuck as one of many body-contouring surgeries for patients in Plano, McKinney, and the surrounding communities at his practice in Allen, Texas. This is accomplished by surgically addressing the three common problem areas of the abdomen: excess skin, excess fat, and muscle laxity or separation. A “tummy tuck” is a more casual name for abdominoplasty, the medical term for a procedure that is performed to make the tummy flatter, tighter, and more youthful in appearance.
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