What is a tummy tuck?

A tummy tuck is a surgery of the stomach area that involves three components. The first component involves doing the liposuction, especially in the flank area, and in the front of the belly. But the liposuction is a little more limited during the tummy tuck because there are other risks. So the tummy tuck involves liposuction.

Secondly, it involves the muscle that is in front of the stomach, in front of the belly, starting from just below the breast all the way down to the pubic area. The reason for this is that during the aging process, during pregnancy or just due to natural wear and tear, the stomach muscle loosens and becomes lax. And it depends on each patient. Some patients become lax much quicker. So this muscle is tightened and it is called “plication,” which actually involves tying the muscle. After this surgery the stomach is much firmer and much flatter. This is the key component of a tummy tuck surgery.

A third component of the tummy tuck is removing excess skin. Some women may have stretch marks or scars in the lower part of the belly. During a tummy tuck, all the skin from the pubic area to the belly button is removed – in a big, elliptical fashion. There will be a hip-to-hip scar, but this is well hidden below the panty line or the bikini line. But the trade off is that you get to remove all that skin, and that skin is tightly pulled down, so you will have very smooth skin under the belly. The belly button is kept, but it is placed back on the pulled down skin. The belly button will look nice and will be remade. It is not recreated by being remade.

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