Tummy Tuck

The procedure will affect a large, core area of your body. Because of this, the recommended at-home recovery period is one-to-two weeks, with three additional weeks of limited activity. Most patients start to feel better within ten days and are ready to return to work after two weeks. Some may need three weeks before returning to work, provided the job doesn’t require heavy lifting or strenuous activity. Regardless of when you return, you will be asked to keep to minimal activity for a total of four to six weeks.

As for post-surgery expectations, you will wake up with a surgical dressing over your incisions, and there will be two drainage tubes placed in the lower abdomen. You will also be wearing a compression garment around your midsection. Wearing the compression garment for the required amount of time is essential for controlling swelling and minimizing the potential for seroma formation, which will ultimately help you achieve your desired results. Your abdomen may feel bruised, swollen or sore, and Dr. Cangello will prescribe pain medication to alleviate any discomfort as needed. You may also experience a temporary loss of sensation in the lower abdomen, but this numbness will resolve over time.

You will be required to keep to minimal activity during the first few days following surgery. Although, you will be asked to walk around carefully and slowly to help prevent blood clots from forming in your legs. When you do walk, you should remain in a slightly hunched position to avoid putting stress on your sutures. At about day five post-op, you will meet with Dr. Cangello for a follow-up appointment. At this time, he will assess your healing progress. Sutures and drains are sometimes removed at this appointment. If they need to remain a bit longer, they will most likely be removed by week two or week three.

During the initial six-week recovery period, you should avoid lifting anything higher than about two pounds, and you should also avoid any strenuous physical activity. Because of this, it is critical that you arrange to have help around the house if you care for small children or pets.

Abdominoplasty is usually performed under general anesthesia.  Less extensive procedures, such as a mini tummy tuck, where skin from only the lower abdomen is removed, may be completed with just local anesthesia.

With liposuction, only fat is removed; skin excision and muscle repair are not performed. The tissue does contract to some degree after liposuction; the best candidates for liposuction have minimal excess skin and good skin elasticity.

An abdominoplasty is best suited for patients who have excess skin with poor elasticity, with or without a protruding abdomen. A protruding stomach is often a result of the abdominal wall muscles stretching and separating from the midline. This most commonly occurs after pregnancy or excessive weight gain. During the procedure, excess skin is excised and the muscles that have separated are pulled together.

When you have a traditional tummy tuck you can have liposuction, but only to the sides of the trunk (also known as the flanks or love handles). You cannot have liposuction to the front of the abdomen, as it could jeopardize blood flow to the skin of the stomach and result in serious complications.

If you’d like to make your abdomen flatter after treatment, you can choose to have liposuction performed as a supplementary procedure several months after surgery. Alternatively, there is a procedure that Dr. Cangello performs called a lipoabdominoplasty.  During this method, the entire trunk (including the front of the abdomen) is comprehensively suctioned. This procedure results in the most dramatic and beautifully contoured results; however, candidates must be carefully assessed as this procedure is not for everyone.

This is an option for patients who have small amounts of excess skin of the lower abdomen that can be excised without going through a full abdominoplasty procedure. However, patients with skin and fat excess of the upper and lower abdomen should understand that they cannot achieve the results of traditional treatment with a minimal scar. Some patients are under the impression that a mini tuck can create the results of a full procedure with a smaller scar (like a C-section type scar). Unfortunately, this is not the case.

In many cases, yes. Dr. Cangello recommends that you finish having children before undergoing cosmetic surgery. Pregnancy can cause the skin and muscles of the abdominal wall to be stretched again, which may necessitate a secondary procedure.

Abdominoplasty can often get rid of stretch marks that appear on the lower abdomen. Stretch marks from the lower abdomen all the way up to the umbilicus (belly button) will be removed.

Patients who have significant stretch marks of the upper abdomen will likely retain some of them after their procedure; however, they will be shifted to the lower part of the stomach.

The results are permanent, assuming you do not become pregnant again or have significant weight gain.

Yes. Many women opt to have their surgery performed in conjunction with a breast augmentation or breast lift for a fully rejuvenated appearance. This particular combination is a popular option for women undergoing a Mommy Makeover.