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Who Can Benefit from a Tummy Tuck?
May 1, 2023
When you look at your abdomen, do you see a fat roll that’s still there despite dieting and exercise? If you’re a woman, perhaps you have sagging skin and stretch marks from your pregnancies. Maybe you’ve recently lost a lot of weight and are left with unsightly flaps of fat. In these situations, sometimes no amount of diet or exercise can produce a toned abdominal area.
Dr. Kiran P/olavarapu at Polavarapu Plastic Surgery in Fort Worth, Texas, can do what your body can’t manage. A tummy tuck can transform your abdominal area so that you feel comfortable with your body again.
What can a tummy tuck do for me?
An abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck, removes those unwanted flaps and folds of stubborn fat that develop in middle age or are left over from significant weight loss or pregnancy.
After the procedure, your abdominal skin is smoother, firmer, and flatter. The surgery accomplishes all of the following:
- Removes pockets of stubborn fat
- Repairs weak connective tissues
- Trims away excess skin
- Gently tightens the remaining skin
- Eliminates unwanted stretch marks
- Repositions your belly button when needed
After a tummy tuck, loose, saggy skin and creases in your abdomen formed from excess fat are things of the past. The surgery also reconnects or tightens loose stomach muscles so you can rebuild a strong core.
Am I a candidate for a tummy tuck?
If any of the following situations describe your abdominal area, you may benefit significantly from a tummy tuck.
Stubborn abdominal fat
A tummy tuck isn’t a weight loss solution. You should be at a stable weight and not significantly overweight at the time of your operation. You may have a roll of stubborn fat that has settled around your abdomen. If you’re a woman in middle age, declining estrogen levels are a factor in fat redistribution. Many women develop an “apple” shape during this time.
Weak abdominal muscles
If you’re a woman who’s given birth to more than one child, your abdominal muscles may have separated as a result of the combined forces of pregnancy and childbirth; at best, they’ve been weakened.
A tummy tuck can help avoid a ventral hernia by tightening, reinforcing, and reconnecting your muscles for a strong core. Dr. Polavarapu stitches loose muscle tissue back together.
Sagging skin
If you’ve lost a lot of weight, either after your pregnancies or simply from a planned weight loss program that moved you to a normal weight range, you’re likely left with sagging skin and stretch marks.
Hanging skin is irreversible from the standpoint that it can’t be tightened through exercise or improved with a topical skin care treatment. Surgery is the only option to remove the excess skin on your abdominal area. During your tummy tuck, Dr. Polavarapu skillfully trims away excess skin and tightens the remaining skin, effectively erasing unwanted stretch marks in the process.
Your informed decision
A tummy tuck can help you reach your aesthetic goals as well as aid body function by enhancing core stability. However, before you commit to the procedure, it’s important to recognize that a tummy tuck is major surgery that requires several hours in the operating room followed by days of downtime and weeks of postoperative recovery.
Dr. Polavarapu explains the recovery process for the enhancement you’re considering and helps find the solution that’s right for you. If you’re interested in a combined tummy tuck/liposuction procedure (lipoabdominoplasty), Dr. Polavarapu may use a special suturing technique that eliminates the need for postsurgical drains and helps shorten recovery time.
Call our office or book an appointment online today for a consultation on a tummy tuck and all of your aesthetic needs. You’re in safe hands with Dr. Polavarapu.
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