What is Tummy Tuck?

In fact, most of today’s aesthetic surgeries are procedures that are performed in the form of restoring the deformities or changes that develop in the bodies of the patients, either due to age, weight gain or loss, or post conception deformities in women. As many people think, aesthetic surgeries that involve radical shape changes are actually less in number. In the meantime, correction of pre-existing aesthetic concerns can also be performed during the same procedures.

Liposuction, that is, fat removal surgeries, and tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) operations performed for the treatment of sagging skin are among the most frequent surgeries in women in our country. Thanks to the popular culture, the internet and the written and visual media, our patients have quite a lot of knowledge about these aesthetic operations. In this regard, I found it more appropriate to write a brief information about the treatment of post-pregnancy stretch marks (striae) and sagging (chalazia) and to write an article to enlighten our patients. I hope this article will be helpful to all expectant women and women who have given birth.

The procedure we call simply tummy tuck or “abdominoplasty” is divided into 2 types; “Mini” and “Full”. Mini tummy tuck is applied to our patients who have minimal sagging of the abdominal skin and have tight muscles. A full tummy tuck is a procedure that is generally applied to women who have had more than one birth, do not do any sports, and therefore have many problems, from stretch marks in the abdomen to lose muscles. Today, the procedure is also called “dermo lipectomy”, since liposuction is added to both processes, usually removing the fat from the belly and waist region. The procedure takes about 1-2 hours for mini tummy tuck and 2-3 hours for full one and is performed under general anesthesia. Patients are usually hospitalized overnight, very rarely 2 nights, and are discharged provided that they see the doctor 1 week later for the control. Healing starts in around 10 days, and the scars become indistinct within 3-6 months. After the procedure, mini abdominoplasty patients can return to work in 5-7 days, and full abdominoplasty patients in 10-15 days. Full abdominoplasty patients should not lift more than 1-2 kilograms (including children) for at least 4-6 weeks, and should wear a waist corset for 4 weeks.

It should be known that scars may be permanent in tummy tuck procedure. However, within 1-2 years, the scars fade and almost disappear, especially in white-skinned women, and the scars can also be hidden in the bikini area. In addition, since the mini tummy tuck procedure is performed using the same cesarean section scars, no additional scars are formed. Today’s abdominoplasty operations only have similarity with the procedure performed 10 years ago because of the way they are called. The tummy tuck procedure, which is called the “high lateral tension” technique, is performed by opening a minimal subcutaneous tunnel, and post-operative recovery is achieved rapidly in this way. So much so that while patients used to go out of the hospital overnight, now they can be discharged as if they had never had an operation.

For the time being, new techniques are being implemented rapidly. One of the latest techniques is especially suitable for those who have minimal or no sagging in the abdomen and have loose muscles is endoscopic tummy tuck.

In this procedure, small incisions are made through the navel and bikini area and monitored with the endoscopic camera, and the muscles and abdomen are contoured with the help of sutures. This process is also called “internal corset”, the reason is that when the excess fat or skin is removed, it acts like a corset, the entire waist and hip arch can be seen. In this way, the abdomen, upper abdomen, waist and buttocks are improved without leaving any scars on the patient. A total thinning can also be achieved by adding liposuction to this type of procedure.

Pregnancy and delivery are the beginning of a new life, a new happiness; but unfortunately, the price of this happiness for women is excess weight, excess skin and sagging. Here, Aesthetic Plastic Surgery also solves the postpartum problems of women by producing solutions to these problems with renewed and developing technologies.