After gaining and losing a large amount of weight or giving birth, the skin of the abdominal region loosens and becomes looser. The weakening of the abdominal wall muscles, the occurrence of cracks in the skin, and the profuse and lubrication of the skin, especially in women who have given birth, are a very painful condition for a woman. The procedure in which we cut the loose abdominal skin of such patients, tighten the abdominal muscles and give them a taut abdomen appearance is called tummy tuck or abdominoplasty.
Who are suitable candidates? : It is generally applied to people who have given birth or lost a lot of weight. If there is a large amount of skin on the belly button and if there is a fold in the abdomen when sitting, full abdominal stretching is applied to such patients. If there is no excess skin fold on the belly button but there is some fold on the lower side, these patients are treated with a mini tummy tuck.
What is the difference between full tummy tuck and mini tummy tuck? : Liposuction is performed on the entire abdominal region before a full tummy tuck. Then, a long incision is made in the lower part of the abdomen, keeping it inside the underwear. The remaining tissue above the belly button is released from the abdominal wall in a way that is pulled down. The belly button is separated from the skin. It is sutured with special stitches to tighten the fascia and abdominal muscles. After the excess tissue is cut, the overlying tissue is pulled down and sutured. The belly button is placed in its new place. In mini abdominoplasty, the lower incision is planned to be slightly longer than the cesarean section. The underlying tissue is cut and removed. It is sutured with special sutures so that the fascia and abdominal muscles are tense. If there is some tissue on the navel, the navel is corrected by pulling 1 or 2 cm down.
What should be done before the operation? : Smoking and aspirin-like drugs should be stopped at least 3 weeks in advance. It is recommended not to take nutritional supplements or drugs such as pain relievers, ginseng, co-enzyme Q10, green tea.
Is anesthesia needed? : These operations are performed under general anesthesia and in the operating room environment. It takes about 2-3 hours.
Will it be very painful? : It is not a very painful operation as it is said. The main discomfort after the operation is having to walk a little bent and the feeling of tension in the abdominal region. After 1 week, the patient starts to walk completely upright and continues to use the corset we wear immediately after the operation.
How is it after the surgery? : Compression stockings are worn during the operation, and an abdominal corset is worn at the end of the operation. After being hospitalized for 1 night, the patient is discharged the next day with a drain if necessary. After 3 days, it is called for control. It is recommended to take a bath 1 day after the drains are removed. After walking obliquely for the first 1 week, upright walking is started. After 3 weeks, only walking can be done as sports, and after 6 weeks, all sports movements can be done.
Can there be any problems during or after the operation? : Like any surgery, this surgery also has complications. The worst is pulmonary embolism. Conditions such as advanced age, smoking a lot, being obese, having diabetes cause this risk to increase. It is recommended for patients who are overweight to lose weight before surgery. Hematoma and wound healing problems may occur in the surgical area. Poor control of bleeding and smoking increase such problems.
Is it possible to get pregnant after surgery? : The operation is not an obstacle to getting pregnant, but it is recommended that it be done at least 2 years after the operation, since pregnancy will reduce the quality of the result. Some abdominal area relaxes but does not return to its original state.
