If pregnancy or weight loss have left excess abdominal skin in your wake, a tummy tuck is a worthy solution. A tummy tuck is the essence of a body contouring procedure. Folds of skin are transformed into a sleek exterior, while underlying musculature is repaired to both structural and cosmetic perfection. By addressing aesthetic pride along with physical comfort, a tummy tuck is not merely a tummy tuck—it is an upgrade to one’s quality of life.

A flat and well-toned abdomen is something many of us strive for through exercise and weight control. Sometimes these methods cannot achieve our goals. Even individuals of otherwise normal body weight and proportion can develop an abdomen that protrudes or is loose and sagging. The most common causes of this are aging, heredity, pregnancy, and significant fluctuations in weight.

Tummy Tuck or abdominoplasty is a plastic surgery operation applied to correct excessive lubrication and sagging in the abdomen and to regain the lost tight appearance. With tummy tuck procedure, it is possible to restore the abdominal region to its former tight form. In surgery, accumulated adipose tissue and sagging skin are removed from the anterior part of the abdomen. Weak abdominal muscles are stretched, and the desired firmness is achieved.

Who are the candidates for a tummy tuck procedure?
The abdomen is an area of ​​our body that is prone to lubrication and loss of firmness. Aging, lifestyle, hereditary features, rapid weight gain and loss, previous surgeries, giving birth can cause sagging of the abdominal skin. Mothers who have given birth, individuals who have consistently gained and lost weigh and those who have undergone bariatric surgery are most frequent tummy tuck patients. Briefly a dissatisfaction with the appearance of your abdominal region makes you a candidate for this surgery.

If you are planning a pregnancy, you should know that abdominoplasty is not a procedure that negatively affects conception. It does not complicate the pregnancy process. However, the main issue here is the swelling of the abdomen with pregnancy. This can cause sagging and cracks in the abdomen after birth. For this reason, we do not recommend the tummy tuck procedure to expectant mothers who are planning a pregnancy. These people can have surgery an average of 1 year after giving birth.

What are the steps of tummy tuck procedure?
Abdominoplasty is performed under general anesthesia. A horizontal incision is made between the groin and the belly button. Excess skin and subcutaneous tissue are cut and removed. Then the abdominal muscles are repaired and strengthened. With the tightening stitches placed, the abdominal and waist circumferences are narrowed by 8-10 cm on average. Then, subcutaneous and skin are sutured with aesthetic sutures at the incision ends. The seams are covered with special tapes. Although the duration of the operation may vary on a case-by-case basis, it is between 2-4 hours. Liposuction is often added to tummy tuck surgery. Thus, the waist and belly circumference are shaped and thinned.

What should I expect from a tummy tuck operation?
Abdominoplasty is not a weight loss procedure. It minimally changes the volume of the abdomen. The aim of the surgery is to recover the sagging abdomen that has lost its firmness and to correct its appearance. It is recommended that overweight patients lose weight with diet and exercise before surgery.

What should I expect when I am recovering?
You will be discharged within 1-2 days after the operation. After the operation, you are needed to use a corset for an average of 3 months. There may be swelling in the abdomen for the first 3 weeks after the operation. Due to the stretching procedure, you may feel a stretch in the abdomen when you stand up for the first time after the surgery and may have difficulty standing upright. This is absolutely normal and will go away on its own in a short time.

The sutures placed on the abdomen during the operation are removed between 10-14 days, depending on your recovery process. With the removal of the stitches, your recovery process is accelerated. In the meantime, the abdomen has reached the desired beautiful appearance. However, rest should be continued for a while. You should not engage in strenuous activity in the first 3 weeks after the surgery, and abdominal exercises should be avoided in the first 6 weeks. After 6 months from the operation, we expect the abdominal muscles to get stronger. In the meantime, the redness in the patient's abdomen begins to disappear. This redness disappears completely in 4-5 months. The scar of the incision, which was opened under the underwear, also becomes vague during this period.

In some cases, liposuction can also be applied to achieve the best result in tummy tuck aesthetics. With liposuction, excess fat accumulated in the abdomen is first removed, and then tummy tuck is performed.