Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) from Perfecta Cosmetic Surgery.
What is tummy tuck?
Tummy tuck is a procedure to give you a slimmer and flatter tummy. It involves removing extra skin and fat from the area between your belly-button and knicker-line and tightening your tummy muscles. The trade off is a scar that usually hides in your knickers or bikini. If you have a bit of extra fat in your upper tummy or ‘love handles’ then some liposuction can help give you an even better result.
Can’t I just have liposuction?
We do a lot of liposuction at the same time as tummy tuck to give you the best result. However after babies (or major weight loss) the tummy skin and muscles have been stretched and they need to be tightened and the extra skin removed – i.e. tummy tuck. Liposuction on its own is great for reducing localised fatty deposits, like on the hips or ‘muffin tops’.
What is a mummy make-over?
We are often asked to improve breasts and tummies at the same time. This usually involves breast enlargement or uplift (or both) plus tummy tuck. The advantages are a single procedure to improve both your breasts and tummy and a single recovery time.
Do I need tummy tuck?
No one needs a tummy tuck. However if you have excess tummy skin and fat, particularly after babies, then tummy tuck can improve the size and shape of your tummy, enable you to wear clothes you want to wear and improves body confidence. Tummy tuck may also help if you have loose skin that hangs down over your knickers or shows through clothing, stretch marks, a poor Caesarian section scar, rounded shape of the lower tummy (pot belly) that won’t improve despite sit-ups and exercise.
Do I need to lose weight before my tummy tuck?
This is entirely up to you. Some patients have a target weight they wanted to reach before surgery. Others find it more difficult to lose weight and ask us to do some liposuction at the same time as their tummy tuck.
What does tummy tuck involve?
We do tummy tuck with you asleep. It takes around two hours and you can go home the same day. There are a number of different tummy tuck techniques the all involve removing excess skin and fat from your tummy.
What is a mini tummy tuck?
If you have a small area of excess in your lower tummy then a mini tummy tuck may be enough. The typical patient is a slim woman who has a little excess that folds or hangs over their Caesarian scar. We will discuss this with you in detail at your consultation.
Are there different types of tummy tuck?
There are a number of different types of abdominoplasty and we will help you choose which is the best for you.
Mini-tummy tuck
Mini-tummy tuck is a type of tummy-tuck for people with a small amount of excess skin just above the hairline. This can be a problem for women after caesarian section when excess skin folds or hangs over the scar and can be visible in clothes. We can also tighten the tummy muscles (rectus plication) at the same time. The tummy button is not moved in this type of tummy tuck.
Rectus Plication
During pregnancy or large weight gain the rectus muscles are stretched apart. These can be restored to their normal position by rectus plication. This can be done with mini or full tummy tuck.
Lipoabdominoplasty
Lipoabdominoplasty is a procedure that combines the benefits of liposuction and tummy tuck to improve your body shape to get you the best result. We can remove more fat with liposuction that with and also target fat in areas such as the hip and flank (‘love handles’) or upper abdomen. It can be helpful for those people who find it difficult to lose weight before surgery.
Fleur-de-lys tummy tuck
Fleur-de-lys tummy tuck is a type of tummy tuck that benefits specific patients, typically after massive weight loss or previous surgery and scarring.
Body contouring
Body contouring involves a combination of procedures that include liposuction and skin/fat reduction. These are ideal for patients with more excess, such as after massive weight loss. This is often combined with improvement in other areas, such as breast, arm or thigh reduction.
