A tummy tuck is one of the most powerful surgeries we perform in Plastic Surgery. The ability to truly contour the entire abdomen, giving a flatter and tighter feeling and appearing mid section is extremely gratifying.
A tummy tuck does a wonderful job of addressing and correcting the following:
- Rectus Diastasis (Separation of abdominal muscles)
- Excess (flabby) skin of the abdomen
- Sad looking belly button
Often times, women who have been pregnant or patients that have had significant weight gain and then loss are excellent candidates. The reason is that these life events stretch out the abdominal wall fascia (the hard covering over the muscles) and this fascia often does not “bounce back” and become tight again. This leads to a look of bulging or pregnancy even when patients are in great shape. In fact, many patients come to me extremely frustrated that even though they can do more crunches and sit ups than they ever could before their belly just doesn’t look like it once did. A Tummy Tuck is a perfect procedure to re-tighten this area and give a much firmer and tighter appearing mid section.
The power of the Plication:
This is the medical term that refers to the tightening of the fascia (hard covering over the rectus abdominus muscles). With pregnancy or weight gain then loss, this fascia often times stretches and does not re-tighten leaving the abdominal region with a great deal of laxity. This leads to an undesirable look of the abdominal region. During surgery, Dr. Lefkowitz meticulously sutures the fascia (leaving the muscles themselves alone) to re-tighten and contour the fascia which in turn brings the muscles back to their normal position and therefore getting rid of the Rectus Diastasis. He performs this all the way from the bottom of the chest bone (Xiphoid) to the pubic region during a full tummy tuck.
As an outpatient surgery with approximately 10-14 days of downtime for work or school, a Tummy Tuck is truly one of the most powerful weapons we have in our surgical arsenal to correct frustrating and undesirable belly bulges and contours.
Dr. Lefkowitz will meet with you in consultation and discuss and address your concerns to help develop a bespoke treatment plan to best achieve your goals.
