How long does tummy tuck surgery take?

The surgery time varies, depending on your size and if you are combining it with other surgeries in a mommy makeover. A simple tummy tuck can take 2 1/2 hours- 3 1/2 hours.

Is anesthesia used during the tummy tuck procedure?

Yes! There is no way to adequately numb you with a local anesthetic. The painful part of a tummy tuck is when we repair your muscle separation, the diastasis. All women get some diastasis after pregnancy. This separation is why you can't suck it in as tightly as you could before kids. Though this part of it hurts, tightening the muscles again is definitely key to get the improvement. Diastasis leads to poor posture, back pain, loss of core body strength, and even worse, causing you to look pregnant when you are not.

How is a tummy tuck performed?

A tummy tuck should be done by a board certified plastic surgeon in an accredited operating room. You will be under general anesthesia. Surgery time varies on your size and if you are doing any surgeries with it. Frequently abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) is combined with liposuction, breast augmentation, breast lift, or breast reduction.

Who is an ideal candidate for a tummy tuck?

Tummy tucks. An ideal candidate for a tummy tuck tends to be someone after childbirth. Pregnancy causes changes in all women's bellies. Even for my uber athletic Palo Alto moms, some of them are blown to smithereens from babies. For some it happens with the first child. For others "I looked fine until my third pregnancy. Then it never looked the same."   Pregnancy causes changes in the body. One of the biggest it to your abdomen. The abdominal skin and muscles need to stretch to accommodate your growing fetus. As it does this, sometimes it cannot bounce back afterwards. There are some changes that time and exercise can fix. But there are some changes which you cannot fix. Diastasis (muscle separation), Hernia (a true muscle split), stretch marks, and hanging skin are among these. Tummy tucks will address muscle looseness (including fixing a diastasis or hernia), skin looseness (usually removing most of the skin between your belly button and pubic area), and some of your fat. (Now if it would only do laundry and make dinners....)