At Burt and Will Plastic Surgery and Dermatology in Burr Ridge, IL, we understand how important a toned abdomen is to self-confidence. That’s why we offer a tummy tuck to help our clients improve their confidence and health. Read on to discover everything you need to know about this incredible contouring procedure.
How Much Weight Can You Lose With a Tummy Tuck?
Among the most common questions asked about a tummy tuck is how much weight can I lose. It may come as a surprise, but you can’t lose very much weight with this procedure.
Some factors that affect how much weight you can expect to lose include how much excess skin you have, how much abdominal fat you have and the type of abdominoplasty you opt for. Typically, you can expect to lose anywhere from four to 15 pounds following this procedure. This procedure is appropriate for individuals who want to strengthen their abdominal muscles and improve the contours of their abdomen.
How Much Excess Skin Are You Carrying?
Have you ever wondered how much weight you are carrying around in excess abdominal skin? Often, when you lose a significant amount of weight, you have a lot of extra abdominal skin. This usually occurs in clients who are older or lost a lot of weight very quickly. One factor affecting how much weight you will lose following your tummy tuck is the weight of the excess skin removed during the procedure.
If you have undergone a bariatric procedure, you may lose between 10 and 15 pounds during your procedure. If you are seeking this procedure following a pregnancy, you may only lose a few pounds due to not having much excess skin at all. However, you should note this procedure makes future weight loss easier as excess skin often gets in the way of working out. Additionally, you may be more motivated to eat better once you see how much better your abs look.
What Type of Abdominoplasty Is Right for Me?
We will determine the appropriate type of abdominoplasty for you based on your aesthetic and medical goals.
Traditional Abdominoplasty
Traditional abdominoplasty is appropriate for people who have concerns about their appearance both beneath and above the navel. Usually, people who opt for this type of abdominoplasty are concerned about excess fat, excess skin and muscle weakness or damage.
Partial Abdominoplasty
A partial abdominoplasty is appropriate if you are satisfied with the appearance of your upper abdomen and the strength of your abdominal muscles. If you have stretch marks below your belly button, a bit of excess lower abdominal skin and a bit of stubborn fat beneath your belly button, this may be the perfect type of abdominoplasty for you. Clients love this type of tummy tuck because the incisions made are smaller and the recovery period is smoother.
Extended Abdominoplasty
An extended abdominoplasty is recommended when you have a problem with the aesthetic of your entire core. This procedure targets the upper and lower abdomen, hips, sides and back.
During this procedure, the horizontal incision made just above your pelvis is extended further and may include a vertical incision, as well. This allows us to remove excess skin from the hips, sides and back, too. Like traditional abdominoplasty, the abdominal walls are tightened. Additionally, adipose tissue can be removed from the hips, sides and back. Just remember this procedure is not designed to facilitate fat removal. You may need liposuction, too.
Am I a Good Candidate for This Procedure?
You may be considered a good tummy tuck candidate if you are looking to tighten your abdominal walls, remove a little unwanted fat and remove excess skin. You may also be considered a good candidate for this procedure if you don’t have any excess skin but you have loose skin you would like to tighten. As noted above, this procedure can be customized to achieve all of the cosmetic goals you have.
You may be a good candidate for a full abdominoplasty. However, due to the nature of your aesthetic goals, partial abdominoplasty or extended abdominoplasty may not be ideal for you. Any cosmetic procedure is a highly personal one and all options should be considered carefully. To ensure it is right for you, we will review your aesthetic goals and discuss the results you can expect realistically. We will also review your medical history and current overall health.
Who Is the Best Candidate for This Procedure?
The best candidate for abdominoplasty is in fairly good overall health. Your health is more important if you are opting for full abdominoplasty or extended abdominoplasty. In those cases, general anesthesia is typically recommended, and the strength of your heart and lungs must be considered very carefully.
You Have A Stable Weight
The perfect candidate for abdominoplasty is also confident he or she can maintain a stable weight. Remember, it is important to be at or near your desired weight because this isn’t a weight loss procedure. Additionally, the results of the procedure may fade if you gain too much weight. A bit of fat is excised during the procedure; most of the fat cells in the area remain and will store fat in the future if too many calories are consumed.
You Have Excess Skin
Although this is a body contouring procedure, one of the primary goals of abdominoplasty is to remove excess skin. Again, you can be considered a good candidate if you only have loose skin. However, you will enjoy the most benefits from this procedure if you have excess skin that needs to be removed.
Removing excess skin can give you the self-confidence to try new sports or exercises. It also improves your mobility and can make stretching easier, eventually increasing your flexibility. Furthermore, the removal of excess skin will make clothes fit better and help you feel more self-confident.
You Have Muscle Weakness
If you have weak or torn abdominal muscles, you are probably the perfect candidate for full abdominoplasty or extended abdominoplasty. These variations of the procedure repair any tears or other damage to the abdominal walls and strengthen the abdominal muscles. This eases back pain and improves balance, mitigating the risk of falls.
How This Procedure Is Performed
When you come in for your procedure, we will administer anesthesia to numb your whole body or abdominal region. Once your comfort is ensured, an incision is made a little above your pelvis. This incision is placed discreetly so it can be hidden by swimwear and underwear as it is healing. Depending on your aesthetic goals, other incisions may also be placed discreetly. Separated or severely stretched abdominal muscles will be reconstructed as necessary.
If you have a particular concern about the amount of abdominal fat you have, liposuction may also be performed. Once the local adipose tissue is excised (and possibly suctioned out), excess skin is removed. Then, the remaining skin is tightened and the incisions are closed. Usually, abdominoplasty takes between two and five hours. Liposuction rarely takes longer than an hour when combined with abdominoplasty.
Weight Loss Before and After the Procedure
Regardless of the type of abdominoplasty you are considering, we encourage you to get as close to your goal weight as you can. The less abdominal fat you have, the more dramatic the results of your abdominoplasty will be. Additionally, obesity puts people at a higher risk of developing medical conditions, including those that affect the heart.
Particularly if you are planning to receive full abdominoplasty, we urge you to achieve a body mass index that falls within the normal or overweight ranges before you consider this procedure. More skin is removed during full abdominoplasty than partial abdominoplasty. Furthermore, people who have lost more weight before the procedure are more likely to have more excess skin. Therefore, they will likely lose more weight post-op due to more skin being removed.
Maintaining the Results of Your Procedure
You must follow all guidelines provided to you if you want to maintain your ideal results. If you’re not confident you can maintain your weight but still opt for this procedure, we recommend counting your calories during your recovery process. Continue counting your calories until you feel confident you can maintain your weight by eating intuitively. You should also exercise regularly.
Exercise is more important for your health than for weight maintenance, but it will help you maintain the definition in your abdominal region. We recommend women postpone this procedure until they are done having children to increase the likelihood weight is maintained successfully. There is no medical risk associated with a future pregnancy. However, pregnancy can weaken or tear the abdominal walls and lead to abdominal fat gain.
Everything Else You Should Know
Regardless of whether your concerns are caused by your genes, a pregnancy or dramatic, rapid weight loss, both psychological and physical benefits can be enjoyed by tightening loose muscles and removing excess skin. If you are still on the fence about this procedure, you may be able to make the right decision if you have a little more information.
More Than Your Aesthetic Will Be Improved
We would like to reiterate you can expect psychological benefits following this procedure. Without excess skin, your clothes will fit better and you will have the confidence to choose your outfits based on how they accentuate your new figure rather than how well they hide the contours you don’t like. Additionally, this procedure can provide many medical benefits. For example, by strengthening your core muscles, stress urinary incontinence can be treated. Diastasis recti can also be treated during this procedure.
Other medical conditions that can be treated during full abdominoplasty include ventral hernias and lordosis. If you have a ventral hernia due to pregnancy, excessively heavy lifting or any other reason, traditional abdominoplasty may be perfect for you. One of the most significant risk factors of developing a ventral hernia is a history of ventral hernias. Abdominoplasty simultaneously treats ventral hernias and mitigates your risk of future ventral hernias by strengthening the abdominal walls.
Visit Us to Learn More
Abdominoplasty can improve your quality of life for good. The typical recipient loses between four and 15 pounds depending on how much excess abdominal skin there is, how much fat is in the abdominal region and the type of abdominoplasty selected. Schedule an appointment with our cosmetic experts at Burt and Will Plastic Surgery and Dermatology in Burr Ridge, IL to learn more about this procedure and determine if it is appropriate for you.