There are some reasons you shouldn’t get a tummy tuck. Here are the top 3.
1. Future Pregnancy. If you’re not sure about your future and are thinking you may have a baby in a few years’ time, then don’t get a tummy tuck now. You’ll just be disappointed when following childbirth, since everything you got rid of with your pre-pregnancy tummy tuck shows up again. It’s a waste of money and time.
2. You’re a smoker. That’s right. Smoking can cause a ton of complications if you’re thinking about undergoing any type of surgery. Tummy tuck is one of the most invasive cosmetic surgical procedures, and if you smoke it can put you at risk of suffering from negative side effects. You’ll have to quit well before the surgery, as advised by your cosmetic surgeon.
3. Obesity. Tummy tucks can remove excess fat, but they aren’t designed for individuals who are obese. Obesity, like smoking, can cause serious complications including poor healing, infections and even skin death. It’s best to reach a stable, generally healthy weight prior to the procedure.
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), 147,392 tummy tucks were performed last year in the US alone. It remained as the fifth most popular invasive cosmetic surgical procedure for both men and women, following breast augmentation, liposuction, blepharoplasty, and rhinoplasty. The majority of patients undergoing abdominoplasty were women and considering that 92% of the total number of people undergoing any cosmetic surgical procedure were women, this comes as no surprise.
I just had a baby and want to get rid of this pouch of fat. What’s the best procedure for me: liposuction or tummy tuck?
Generally, post pregnancy flab is a result of several things:
1 .Fat. Most of the time, women gain weight during pregnancy and find it difficult to get rid of it after childbirth. While excess fat is distributed all over the body, it may be more pronounced on the stomach area.
2. Weakened/separated ab muscles. To accommodate the size of the fetus, pregnant women experience a stretching of ab muscles and sometimes diastasis recti, a separation of the ab muscles. After childbirth, weakened/separated ab muscles can contribute to the appearance of a a pot belly, as well as bad posture.
3. Saggy skin. For most women, pregnancy causes the skin to stretch immensely over a short period of time. After childbirth, the skin remains loose until it can gradually return to its original tautness, if ever. Stretch marks are also quite common.
So, to make a long story short, you’re probably better off exploring a tummy tuck for your post-pregnancy body rather than liposuction. Liposuction only removes fat (and to some extent, can tightens overlying skin if it’s laser assisted). A tummy tuck can remove fat as well as tighten weakened muscles and lax skin – all of which may be causing your “pouch”.
But remember: the best thing to do is to speak to a qualified physician to determine what ever course of action is most suitable.
A tummy tuck does get rid of excess skin and fat in the abdominal area (as well as tightens the ab muscles). However, patients shouldn’t expect to lose a lot of weight from the procedure.
Abdominoplasty is not designed as a method of weight loss. It is a cosmetic procedure that only targets the abdominal area and removes what is necessary to achieve a more desirable body contour. Therefore, the amount of weight lost will be limited to what the removed skin and fat weighs. It may be anywhere from 1 to 6 pounds, depending on the patient.
A flatter stomach, no more flabby skin, and more muscular definition is what a tummy tuck can achieve for you. But as an individual considering abdominoplasty, it’s important to know what side effects and complications may occur following surgery as well.
Some of the more common ones are the following:
Tightness following surgery: Because a portion of excess skin may have been removed during surgery, afterward, you may find it a little difficult to stand up totally straight. You may also feel tightness in the area – some describe as “tugging”. This is temporary and should resolve itself over time.
Scarring: Undoubtedly, scarring is one of the worst cosmetic risks of tummy tuck surgery. It’s absolutely unavoidable since the surgery requires an incision (a scar occurs when the skin is broken in any way), but you can help make your scar heal nicely by doing things like avoiding the sun, keeping the area clean to avoid infection, and following all of your physician’s post-care instructions.
Numbness in the treated area: Considered temporary and will fade with time. This may be a result of trapped fluids under the skin, which can also cause some degree of swelling. Trapped fluids may be removed with the assistance of your physician.
Panniculectomy is the technical term for the removal of the pannus, the portion of skin and fat that hang below the abdomen. The pannus is a common feature of individuals who are greatly overweight. It typically looks like an apron.
During a panniculectomy, excess skin and fat in the lower abdomen (below the belly button) is removed. The muscles are not tightened.
This type of tummy tuck is normally performed on women following massive weight loss or pregnancy, as well as those who suffer from back problems, rashes and ulcers caused by the pannus. It may also be suitable for men and women who are unable to undergo a full tummy tuck due to health concerns.
Okay. So we’re not trying to say that a tummy tuck is a bad thing. But if you want to get rid of your pot belly but don’t have the time to take off work or your regular life to recover from a surgical procedure, then you may want to check out a new way to slim down.
UltraShape is the newest technology in cosmetic surgery. It’s basically a nonsurgical way to eliminate fat deposits in the stomach. While it doesn’t tighten up loose skin like a tummy tuck does, it can fight half of the problem by destroying the unwanted fat cells in the stomach.
Patients have described a session as painless, so you don’t even need anesthesia! The technology is based on therapeutic ultrasound energy, designed to target only the fat cells in the area. The membranes of the fat cells are disrupted so they release their contents to be processed by the body’s natural physiological systems. That’s how the area trims down.
You’ll probably need about 3 sessions to see desirable results, and when we’re talking about results, we aren’t talking about something insignificant. We’re talking about a measurable reduction in the circumference of your stomach of more than a few centimeters! All of this without the related side effects of a surgical procedure and the administration of anesthesia.
If you’re going to buy your beauty would you rather do it with cash or credit? Those aren’t your only options anymore. There are companies now that exist solely for the purpose of granting cosmetic surgery loans. These are quick, easy, no deposit loans for relatively small ($8000 – $15,000) cost procedures. These loans can be viewed as a cheaper alternative to costly credit card interest rates. But plastic surgeons are concerned that it will promote women who don’t have the money to get surgery they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. However, these same doctors have been accepting credit cards for years. Is there really a difference? Credit is credit is credit. Whether you have credit with a bank in the form of a card, or credit with a bank in the form a loan, the only difference is the amount of interest you’re paying. So shop around and make sure you’re getting the best rate. And to those loan companies who think their rates are so great, a zero percent interest credit card would always be preferable to a loan. But that’s just my opinion.
Today the Associate Press reported that Demi Moore has admitted to having had more than $600,000 worth of cosmetic surgery work done. This is no doubt an admission designed to spurn interest in her upcoming book about Hollywood’s obsession with youth.
The world famous actress has admitted to getting a procedure done to lift sagging skin around her knees. One can’t help but wonder if this is similar to a tummy tuck procedure in the way skin is removed and then stitched back to remove sagging. If she shows up at the Toronto Film Festival, we’ll all have to take a close look at her knees.
Happy Belated 30th Birthday to actress Liv Tyler. Her birthday was July 1.
Originally a staunch opponent of cosmetic surgery who wanted to avoid going under the knife at all costs and to age gracefully, Liv Tyler has admitted to have changed her mind after giving birth to her first child in 2004. Though there still haven’t been any reports saying that she has actually undergone surgery, a tummy tuck is probably one of the procedures she’s considering.
Tummy tucks are extremely popular amongst women who have given birth. Skin on the abdomen normally stretches excessively to accommodate pregnancy, which does not tend to shrink back following childbirth. This, combined with weight gain, makes it extremely difficult for women to firm up the area with exercise and diet alone. The amount of fat may decrease, but following a healthy lifestyle is insufficient to tighten hanging excess skin.
However, tummy tucks are best performed on women who don’t expect to become pregnant again. Pregnancy and childbirth can undo results.
