How long does tummy tuck surgery take?

Generally, tummy tucks take 2-3 hours to perform.

Is anesthesia used during the tummy tuck procedure?

Tummy tucks are performed with patients under general anesthesia (asleep).

Are there risks and complications to a tummy tuck?

Bad outcomes are very rare, but there are some risks of surgery about which all patients should be educated. Although very infrequent, it is possible to bleed after tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) and require another procedure to stop the bleeding and drain the accumulated blood (hematoma). Some patients also develop a collection of watery fluid called a seroma. A seroma can serve as a significant nuisance postoperatively, and can interfere with the re-draping of the abdominal skin. Seromas are usually treated by repeated aspirations of the fluid over several weeks after surgery; sometimes, they require placement of a drain many weeks after surgery. A significant amount of skin and fat is removed and rearranged during tummy tuck. If the blood flow to a portion of skin or fat is diminished, that tissue can die, leading to problems with normal wound healing. Death of the skin can lead to an open wound after surgery. Usually this heals, but it can take several weeks for final healing to occur. If the scar is thick or wide after this, sometimes a secondary scar revision is required. The chances of skin dying are markedly increased if patients are using tobacco products. Infections, although rare, can occur any time in the first 4 to 6 weeks after surgery. Pulmonary embolism is quite rare, but is the most feared risk after tummy tuck surgery. A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot which has broken loose from the veins of the leg or thigh and travels in the bloodstream to the lungs. If a clot travels to the lungs, it can cause serious breathing problems and, in severe cases, can cause death. Pulmonary emboli usually happen within the first 2-3 days of surgery, with the most common symptoms being shortness of breath, a racing heart, and fatigue. The risks of pulmonary embolism are markedly reduced by walking as soon as possible after surgery. In addition, anti-embolism compressive devices are placed on all patients during Tummy Tuck surgery, and some patients also receive injectable blood thinners. All of these treatments in combination can help keep the risk of pulmonary embolism to a minimum. In some patients, the scars end up healing wider or thicker than expected. If this is the case, several months after surgery, a scar revision may be required to allow the incision to heal as a thin, flat and fine line.