How Does A Tummy Tuck Work?

It’s no secret that many people desire flat and firm abs, and it’s definitely not a secret that toning your stomach can be quite the challenge after your teenage years. While some people flatten their abs and tone their stomachs with diets and exercise, some people cannot achieve the results they desire through diets and exercise. Even people of average weight wish to have a more appealing stomach because their abdomen protrudes or just has a loose and saggy look to it. Stomachs can have excessive fat and excessive skin for quite a few reasons, like aging, hereditary causes, pregnancy, prior surgeries, or even just significant weight fluctuations in the past.

In the case that someone desires flat and tightened abs, but might not be able to do so with sit ups and salads, there might be another option – a tummy tuck. The tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, is a plastic surgical procedure that removes most of the excess fat and excess skin. A tummy tuck will also remove the weakened and separated muscles in the abdomen area, providing the patient with a much smoother and firmer look for their stomach. Not surprisingly, tummy tucks were one of the most popular plastic surgeries for both men and women. So, for all those who wish they had well-toned abs but struggle to get them, here’s how a tummy tuck works.

How a Tummy Tuck Works:

Depending on whether it is a complete abdominoplasty or a partial one, the surgery usually takes about 1-5 hours or 1-2 hours, respectively. Some patients might have to stay overnight at the hospital, while some may be able to leave later that day. In either case, however, it is important that patients bring someone along with them as they cannot drive home from the hospital, and they should also remain under supervision for 24 hours in case of any severe complications such as blood clotting.

Step 1 – The doctor provides a patient with something to ensure comfort during the surgery. Depending on certain factors, such as allergies and prices, the patient is usually either given intravenous sedation or anesthesia.

Step 2 – The doctor will make a horizontally-placed incision somewhere between the pubic hairline and the belly button area. Although a complete abdominoplasty involves an incision from hip to hip, the specific size and shape of the incision depends on the exact amount of excess skin that the patient has and how much work is being done under the skin. Patients can also undergo a partial abdominoplasty or an extended one, which involves a shorter or longer incision, respectively. In the case of complete abdominoplasty (and extended), the doctor will make another incision to free the navel from the skin surrounding the belly button.

Step 3 – Once the incision is made, and the skin is lifted, the doctor repairs any weakened or separated muscles. In most cases, the doctors tighten the muscles with sutures. Depending on whether the patient is undergoing a complete tummy tuck, or a partial tummy tuck (a “mini” tuck), the doctor will repair different portions of the weakened and separated muscles. In addition to the muscle repair, liposuction is usually used to refine and better contour the transition areas in the stomach’s profile. The liposuction helps remove the excess fat that’s contributing to the patient’s loose and saggy stomach.

Step 4 – After the muscle is repaired and any excess fat is removed, the doctor pulls the upper skin down as if it were a window shade until the skin reaches a tight, fitting form. At this point any excess skin can be trimmed and then the remaining skin can be sutured using skin adhesive, stitches, tapes, clips, etc. If the patient is undergoing a complete tummy tuck, then the belly button will be popped through to the surface after the skin is reconfigured.

Other Things to Consider:

A tummy tuck procedure begins well before the actual surgery, and it’s important to prepare properly for the surgery. While each and every patient will have their own specific preparation requirements provided by their doctor, here are some of the common instructions: patients must quit smoking for at least two weeks before the procedure as it severely affects their healing abilities, patients must eat a whole and balanced diet for the two weeks leading up to the surgery, and patients must report any medicines they take leading up to the surgery. Always remember to follow any preparation instructions very carefully because if not, they can have significant and negative effects on the surgery.

On the other end, after the procedure, there are also very important instructions to follow. Again, the doctor will provide each patient with specific instructions to follow to ensure the best recovery for each patient and their specific needs, but there are common instructions among all patients. Patients may need to take some form of a pain relieving medicine, wear a compression garment to reduce swelling and bruising, and rest for up to four weeks following the surgery. Patients also need to avoid nicotine for a month after the surgery. It is absolutely crucial that patients listen to their doctor’s recovery instructions and keep in contact with a doctor in case of any complications.

Tummy tucks are generally very effective procedures with long term effects that can last forever as long as you maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly. So, if you like your new flat, firm, and smooth stomach, then do not forget to follow any instructions carefully. Otherwise, enjoy those tight abs you have been waiting for!

Written by: Russell McBurnie

8 Most Common Cosmetic Surgeries For Women

It’s 2016, and we all know at least one person who has gotten plastic surgery…her name is Kim Kardashian. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell how many surgeries Kim has gotten, and we’ve all struggled trying to figure out exactly what Kim has changed with surgery in the past few years. However, as much as people love to take jabs at Kim and her surgeries, the truth of the matter is that a lot of women like the idea of cosmetic surgery. So, regardless of whether you love or hate your favorite celebrity’s last surgery, it might help to know the 8 most common cosmetic surgeries that other women get, and here’s a list according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons:

8.    Dermabrasion

Dermabrasion is a process that removes acne, scars, age marks, and other damages to facial skin. Dermabrasion basically sands the facial skin to remove the topmost layer of skin, and then as the wounds from the sanding heal, the skin appears much softer, cleaner, and healthier than the skin before. According to the reports, 75,639 women underwent this procedure in 2015.

7.    Breast Lift

Breast lifts are usually simple procedures. Women get breast lifts if their boobs become too saggy, uneven, or old-looking, and for many other reasons such as having droopy nipples. Many times breast lifts are accompanied by breast reductions or breast augmentations, but either way, breast lifts are quite common for women. According to the reports, there were 99,614 women who underwent breast lift procedures in 2015.

6.    Facelift

Facelifts are cosmetic surgery procedures that provide women with the chance to bring back some youth in the face by decreasing any facial sag and removing wrinkles. There are many different techniques to facelifts for women who need different levels of help with their faces. According to the reports, 113,748 women got their faces lifted in 2015.

5.    Tummy Tuck

Not happy with your gym results? Don’t panic, flattening your stomach is always much harder than you expect, which is why it’s no surprise that 123,083 women under the tummy tuck procedure in 2015. Tummy tuck surgery removes all of the extra fat and skin around your abdomen while tightening the muscles in that area, providing women with flatter stomachs.

4.    Rhinoplasty

Whether you broke your nose badly, don’t like the way it looks, or can’t breathe properly, women get nose jobs for a wide array of reasons. Rhinoplasty is the surgical procedure that improves the shape, proportion, or functioning ability of the patient’s nose. As many would expect, nose jobs are among the most common plastic surgeries for women as 164,371 women received a nose job in 2015.

3.    Eyelid Surgery

Eyelid surgery, more so than the other surgeries on this list, might come as a surprise. Eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, can improve the look of your upper and lower eyelids as well as the entire shape of your eye. This procedure can be done to improve vision, give women their desired eye shape, or prevent sagging or excess skin around the eye. According to the reports, 174,028 women underwent eyelid surgery in 2015.

2.    Liposuction

Again, this is 2016, and it’s no secret that America is on average an overweight country, so women are extra conscious about their weight. Liposuction is a suction-assisted surgery that removes fat from different areas all over the body. You can get fat removed from your thighs, stomach, arms, back, and even your neck. Of course, not every patient who underwent liposuction in 2015 was “overweight,” but lipo is still one of the most common cosmetic surgeries for women as 196,395 women underwent liposuction in 2015.

1.    Breast Augmentation

And for the finale, the most common cosmetic surgery for women is the boob job. Breast augmentation is the surgical procedure that increases the size and volume of the patient’s breast, or improves the overall shape. Whether it’s a 50-year-old priss gasping for a sense of worth, or someone like Megan Fox making the modest jump from an A-cup to a C-cup, those are just two of the 279,143 women who received breast augmentations in 2015.

Of course, those aren’t the only cosmetic surgeries for women. Women also get breast reductions, chin augmentations, and arm lifts. And ever since Kim’s youngest sister, Kylie Jenner, has entered the scene, lip augmentations have become increasingly more popular. Now, remember that regardless of whether you have Kylie’s lips, Kim’s face, or neither, it’s important to love yourself and love the way you look. But, it’s also your body, so if you prefer a new nose and it’s a good possibility for you, then go for it! In the end, just make sure that you make your decision for you. 

Written by: Russell McBurnie