A tummy tuck, also known as an abdominoplasty, is a surgical procedure to tighten loose abdominal skin and repair muscles separated from weight gain or pregnancy. When wanting to redefine your body’s natural contours, you might turn to diet and exercise. After all, this combination is advertised as the tried and true path to achieving a better physique. But, you probably know already that this duo only goes so far. Diet and exercise affect muscle fibers and fat cells only. Neither do much for skin that has stretched past its physiological limit.
So, what are you supposed to do when loose, excess skin hides your hard-earned physique? The aesthetic experts at DenverLipo have helped hundreds of patients reclaim their younger-looking, slimmer midsections after a tailored tummy tuck procedure. If you want to see how we tailor this simple surgical treatment to meet your aesthetic desires, please schedule a personal consultation at our Englewood offices. Here, we’ll begin creating a personalized treatment plan. To call our front desk directly, call (720) 372-2155.
Contents
Before and After Photos
Aesthetic Dilemmas
With pregnancy or weight gain, your abdomen goes through several aesthetic changes. After you have given birth or completed a weight loss journey, your abdominal profile might not “bounce back.” While different diets, expensive topicals, and core-focused exercises promise to correct your loose skin, these solutions can leave much to be desired.
Persistent aesthetic dilemmas include loose skin and separated abdominal muscles.
Loose, Excess Skin
As far as efficiency goes, our skin might be the hardest working of our body’s organs. Your skin is the only external and exposed organ. Because of this, it goes through photoaging from sunlight, free radicals, and pollution as well as the natural aging process. Your skin cells have to work overtime to counteract these external assailants to keep your complexion smooth, tight, and blemish-free. When you’re young, your skin uses proteins, minerals, and nutrients to keep up with your change in height and weight. After adolescence, your skin is typically smooth and tight despite having been continually stretched for the past few years. But as you get older and your skin encounters more external pressures, your skin cells’ ability to restore, repair, and rejuvenate themselves gradually slows down. So, if your skin is stretched past its physiological limits, there’s a strong possibility that it might not have the capacity to “snap back.” This is why many mothers and weight loss patients struggle with loose, excess skin.
Separated Core Muscles
Women who have been pregnant typically have or have had separated core muscles. The front part of your abdominal muscles is comprised of two vertical walls. These soft tissue structures keep your core stabilized and create that “six-pack” appearance. The two walls are kept together by a strip of tensile connective tissue called the linea alba. During your third trimester, the pressure from the growing fetus is often too much for the linea alba.[1] This band of connective tissue subsequently breaks, resulting in a separation between the two abdominal walls. After giving birth, your entire core feels weak and the disconnected linea alba allows for a bulge in the center of your abdomen. This condition is called diastasis recti. For some mothers, their linea alba repairs on its own. But for many, this condition persists for years to come.
Benefits
A tummy tuck comes with two notable benefits that include:
Correct Weak Pelvic Floor Disorders
When your abdominal muscles lose their foundation, your pelvic floor weakens. When your pelvic floor muscles lose their strength, you often see adverse conditions like urinary stress incontinence.[2] Unfortunately, no amount of core exercises can recenter these muscles if they don’t heal on their own.
But during a tummy tuck, we address the muscles directly and suture them back in place. Once the body has taken to the alterations and regained strength, your pelvic floor disorders subside. Over time, your core gets stronger and that unwanted bulge in the center of your abdomen is gone.
Achieve Slimmer Contours
Loose skin hides your body’s natural contours and often limits the outfits you wear. During a tummy tuck, we begin with an incision below the bikini line. Then, we pull the loose skin down, making sure it’s tight and smooth. Next, we trim away the overlapping tissue while adjusting the belly button’s placement. Once we achieve the desired effects, we suture the incision close. After a tummy tuck, your skin forms tighter around your abdominal profile, accentuating your body’s slimmer, more natural contours.
Types of Tummy Tucks
When deciding if a tummy tuck is right for you, it’s important to consider the three different types of tummy tucks. Each one comes with its own benefits that may be better suited for your unique circumstances. We’ll discuss and determine which one is best for you during your consultation. The three types of tummy tucks include:
Full Abdominoplasty
A full abdominoplasty is the traditional tummy tuck procedure. During a full abdominoplasty, we tighten loose skin around the waistline and repair separated abdominal muscles. This approach gives you smoother skin that better shapes your abdominal profile while also restoring your core strength. A full tummy tuck requires a hip-to-hip incision just beneath the bikini line, so it is easily hidden under clothing. Liposuction for the upper and lower abdomen can also be performed during the procedure.
Mini Abdominoplasty
A mini tummy tuck only targets loose, excess skin and tissue on the lower abdomen, below the belly button. This redundant tissue often makes certain clothes fit awkwardly or uncomfortably. A mini tummy tuck requires only a minimal incision at the base of the pubis. From here, we pull the excess tissue tight and remove all overlapping skin. A mini tummy tuck is ideal for patients who don’t have diastasis recti and only need a limited amount of tissue addressed.
Extended Tummy Tuck
An extended tummy tuck is ideal for patients who have just finished a significant weight loss journey. These patients have too much excess skin for a full tummy tuck. Their excess skin often doesn’t just rest around their abdomen. During this approach, we make a slightly larger incision than a full tummy tuck to contour the top of the pubic hairline and along the lower back. This procedure is a little more involved than a full abdominoplasty, so recovery is a little longer.
Candidates
If you are interested in seeing the benefits of a tummy tuck for yourself, schedule a personal consultation. A tummy tuck is designed to help patients of all ages reclaim their younger, slimmer curves. But because it’s a surgical procedure, you have to qualify for general anesthesia. This means being:
- At a healthy, stable weight. If you regain weight after your tummy tuck, your results will be greatly diminished.
- Able to stop smoking or discontinue other nicotine use before and after your surgery.
- Able to take time away from heavy lifting and strenuous activities for a couple of weeks post-op.
Personal Consultation
If this is your first consultation at DenverLipo, we’ll begin with a new patient intake interview and a physical examination. Most patients come in with more than one aesthetic concern, so we will examine each of your problem areas before creating your personalized treatment plan. Other procedures and services can be easily performed during or after a tummy tuck, so we may elect to do both at the same time.
Preparation
At the end of your consultation, we will give you a list of preparatory steps based on your unique circumstances. These include personalized steps to follow as well as more general guidelines. To prepare for your tummy tuck, it’s best to:
- Avoid smoking and other nicotine products. Nicotine constricts your blood vessels and will interrupt your body’s natural healing response.
- Avoid alcohol as too much can increase post-operative bruising.
- Schedule time off work and away from strenuous activities.
- Designate a caregiver to drive you home and look after you for the first 24-48 hours.
Complementary Liposuction
Most patients come to us with unwanted, hard-to-lose fat in addition to loose skin. For this type of fat, we use different liposuction procedures. Liposuction is a minimally invasive procedure that pairs seamlessly with a tummy tuck to enhance your aesthetic results. After we make the baseline incision, we use the appropriate liposuction technology to extract fat cells directly from your trouble spots. We determine which liposuction device is best for you during your consultation.
Recovery
After a tummy tuck, please don’t take any blood-thinning medications for pain management. We will prescribe you the appropriate medication before your surgery. For the next couple of weeks, it is important to avoid all heavy lifting and strenuous activities. These may aggravate the internal and external sutures. During your follow-up consultation, we’ll note where your body is in the healing process and if any future steps are required.
How Much Does A Tummy Tuck Cost in Denver?
The cost of your tummy tuck will depend on the approach used as well as any additional procedures. We will discuss your unique price during your consultation. If you have any questions about price or financing options, please call us at (720) 372-2155.
References
- Nahabedian M. Y. (2018). Management Strategies for Diastasis Recti. Seminars in plastic surgery, 32(3), 147–154. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0038-1661380
- Fashokun, T. B. (Omotosho), Harvie, H. S., Schimpf, M. O., Olivera, C. K., Epstein, L. B., Jean-michel, M., Rooney, K. E., Balgobin, S., Ibeanu, O. A., Gala, R. B., & Rogers, R. G. (2013). Sexual Activity and Function in Women with and without Pelvic Floor Disorders. International Urogynecology Journal, 24(1), 91–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-012-1848-2
