Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck)
It is a very common procedure, used to shape the abdomen by removing excess fat and skin and tightening the muscles.
Candidates for the operation are:
- Women after repeated childbirth.
- Women and men after massive weight loss.
- We advise women to do the surgery ideally when they are not planning to have more children.
- We also advise both women and men to postpone the procedure (tummy tuck) if they are planning a major weight loss. This is because the skin will become loose again after pregnancy or massive weight loss.
Pre-Operative Consultation:
Dr. Halaseh will take full medical history from the patient, he will examine you looking for extra skin, excess fat deposits, weakness of the abdominal wall muscles and the presence of hernias.
You will be given the choice to have the operation done under general anaesthesia or spinal anaesthesia and discuss this with you.
Dr. Halaseh will advise you if you need full or mini-abdominoplasty.
You are advised to stop smoking in the perioperative period.
On the morning of the operation, Dr. Halaseh will see you in your room just before the surgery to mark the incision and the areas which need liposuction. He will evaluate the condition of the muscles to see if they need tightening and check for the presence of any hernia which needs to be repaired.
The Procedure:
- The operation takes 2-3 hours.
- Liposuction is done first.
- The incision is done and the skin is lifted up to the rib cage.
- Tightening of the muscles and repair of hernias is done if indicated.
- Excess skin is removed.
- The umbilicus is repositioned to its original position or a new umbilicus is made.
- The wound is closed in layers, the skin is closed with intra-dermal sutures and steristrips.
- A drain is kept for 2-4 days to remove fluids which naturally collect after lifting the skin.
Post-Operative Care:
- The patient is given a pressure garment to wear for 3-4 weeks.
- The patient will stay 1-2 nights in the hospital.
- The patient is allowed up and around in the hospital ward on the evening of the operation or maximum by the following morning.
- The patient can go back to routine house work activities in one week and can go back to work in 10-14 days.
- The patient can go back to light exercise in 3 weeks, with no heavy weight lifting for 2-3 months.
- Scars will fade away with time in most people, and local silicone gels or silicone sheets are given to improve the scar.
