1. How should I prepare for abdominoplasty surgery?

All surgery patients should avoid aspirin for a period of 30 days before the procedure and ibuprofen for 1 week before the procedure. It is not a bad idea to be on a low fiber diet for 24 hours before the procedure. Other than that we give our surgical patients a surgical soap to use in their last shower or bath prior to the procedure. Apart from this, there is no other preparation required.


2. What happens during the tummy tuck procedure?

We make two incisions. One goes to the groin, across the fold, beneath the apron, from one hip to the other. And the other incision, from the hip point to the belly button, then back to the other hip. All the skin and fat between the belly button and the pubic hairline gets excised, removed and discarded. Not just the skin, but all the fat also. Then we undermine the upper abdominal skin up to the 10th rib. There are 12 ribs, so we go 2 ribs above the bottom of the rib. And we tighten the big abdominal muscles. They are called rectus abdominus. The two vertical ones get spread apart an inch after one pregnancy and an inch and a half after two pregnancies. So we bring back the abdomen to where it was before the first pregnancy. It is called reconstituting the original abdominal wall. And we pull the upper abdominal skin down to the groin incision line and sew it in place. And after that is closed we figure out where the belly button is. We usually leave one or two drains in exiting through either side of the groin incision suture line, and they are connected to an egg shaped rubber ball that maintains suction. That’s emptied whenever it fills up, 2 or 3 times a day. And we take it out at the end of the first week. When the patient is leaving, before that we arrange for the local family doctor and the plastic surgeon removes the drains for them. Tummy tuck tightens the tummy in two directions. The muscle layer is tightened from side to side, and the skin layer is tightened from top to bottom. So it is criss cross tightening to make sure it is as tight as it possibly can be.


3. What is the abdominoplasty recovery period like?

Well, the patients are up and around walking the very next day. But if the skin is made too tight, it may take a couple of days to bend or stand straight easily. At the end of the first week when the drain comes out, the patient can stand perfectly straight and erect. The patient should not lift more than 10 pounds for first week, 20 pounds for the second week, 30 pounds for the third week, and so on. Most people will be back to a desk job within a week, and other more strenuous jobs within 10 days or 2 weeks.


4. What are the common side effects of abdominoplasty?

The most common side effect is that you get an uncontrollable urge to go shopping for a new bikini. It is true that there are deaths that happen from tummy tuck, but not when it is done the way we do it. We have done over 10,000. We have a 40-year, 30,000-patient perfect safety record. If there is a serious complication, it is always the result of general anesthesia that encourages blood clots to be formed. Occasionally those clots can break off and go to the lung, and when it is a big one, it can be fatal. Even though this is a reported serious complication of tummy tuck, it is really not a complication of tummy tuck, it is a complication of general anesthesia. It does not happen with the anesthesia we use. We numb the abdomen so that when the patient wakes up there is no pain, they do not have to take pain medicines to keep them immobile and in bed. Getting up and moving around is the best prevention of this serious complication. And, as I said, this complication does not happen the way we do it.


5. Does a male tummy tuck differ from a female tummy tuck?

A male tummy tuck does not really differ from a female tummy tuck. Men who have had a gastric bypass, and lost over a hundred pounds, we do exactly the same thing for them. They usually do not require as much placation of the abdominal muscles because the muscles have never been stretched by a large uterus. But they have been stretched by large intra abdominal fat accumulation.


6. How can I maintain my figure after undergoing abdominoplasty surgery?

It is important to go for a balanced diet and regular exercise. You cannot just go after high calorie and high fat foods. You have to pay attention and avoid all high fat foods such as deep fried foods. You have to also pay attention to avoiding refined carbohydrates, which means avoiding all sweets, cakes, pies and other bakery products. They not only give you extra calories, but they make you hungry sooner than if you had had the same amount of calories in the form of proteins and carbohydrates. Regular exercise is also important. You can go to the gym 2 or 3 times a week. Pay attention to your blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and other things. The designed longevity for the human body is 120 years. You can live till that if you work hard.


7. How do I find a tummy tuck surgeon in my area?

You can go and Google for the information. Most of the times you can find many tummy tuck qualified surgeons in your area. But the important thing is to find out what their safety record is. How many surgeries they have performed. You may not want to be the first patient for a young surgeon who is just starting out. It is better to be after number 1000 for best results.