A tummy tuck will address fat tissue mainly in the upper and lower abdominal area. It also helps detach anterior abdominal muscles and address saggy skin, stretch marks, excessive weight loss and stubborn fat deposits after pregnancy.

Most patients undergo this procedure after they give birth and don’t plan to have any more children. Also, if you expect to lose significant weight, you should wait until you have reached the desired weight. There is not an ideal age. As long as the patient is in good health and a good candidate for the procedure, they will have a good outcome.

Some non-surgical skin-tightening approaches may be effective in some patients, including exercise. However, in most cases, a tummy tuck yields better results since these patients have loose skin folding over on itself. Loose belly skin can only be tightened with a surgical procedure.

A tummy tuck is not a weight loss plan. This procedure trims excess skin so you will probably weigh four to ten pounds less because of the skin that was removed. In other words, if you are close to your ideal weight but still have excess skin in the abdominal area, which cannot be corrected with exercise, you are a great candidate for a tummy tuck.

A tummy tuck will not remove all stretch marks, only those below the belly button. However, redundant abdominal skin can be removed with a tummy tuck, making stretch marks on the upper abdomen less noticeable. In short, this procedure can help improve the appearance of some stretch marks and eliminate others.

Absolutely! A tummy tuck will help remove excess loose skin.

Fat should not return unless you gain weight. Nevertheless, since many of the fat cells have been removed during surgery, the capacity for extra fat will be less. The skin and muscles will also stretch over time, but you will enjoy an enhanced body shape for several years.

Women that already had children generally need a full tummy tuck to tighten the stretched-out abdominal wall and remove excess skin. Only a smaller percentage of women qualify for a mini-tummy tuck when the loose skin is mostly on the lower abdomen.

It all depends on the kind of work you do. If there were no complications after surgery and you are sitting by your desk most of the time and your job doesn’t require heavy lifting, you may go back to work a week after surgery. However, if you undergo a major procedure, you may need two weeks to recover fully. That is a decision your doctor can help you with.

The risks of this procedure are minor, including issues with wound healing and scar asymmetry, fluid buildup, and numbness. There are also some severe but less common risks such as bleeding, infection, and blood clots.