Abdominoplasty - A Big Name For a Basic Procedure

If you have friends who have undergone plastic surgery, you may have heard them using words that you don't understand. There are several different types of cosmetic surgeries and it can be hard to keep track of the different medical procedures and their corresponding slang names. One of the most common terms overheard is abdominoplasty, which is known in layman's terms as the tummy tuck. An abdominoplasty is one of the most common ways that a person's abdomen and the surrounding area is restructured during plastic surgery.

The first abdominoplasty can be linked back to ancient times when babies were delivered by Caesarian section. This emergency surgery was used in dire situations to deliver a baby by cutting it out of its mother. The procedure nearly always resulted in the death of the mother until the invention of sutures in the 1800s. Even then the mortality rate was high, but these procedures pioneered the way for closing holes in the skin and muscle of the stomach. The modern procedure for the tummy tuck was partially inspired by the C-section, and many of the same techniques are used.

A tummy tuck is done to remove excess skin and tissue from the abdominal area. Generally this is not done to remove large amounts of fat, but rather saggy skin or loose tissue that causes the stomach to lose firmness. People who have undergone massive weight loss or have excess baggage on their torso after pregnancy are often good candidates for tummy tucks. The procedure can remove some fat tissue, but in many cases liposuction can be more effective for fat removal.

It may seem that liposuction and abdominoplasty could be combined, but this can only occur in certain situations. Because of the way that the blood vessels are placed in the abdomen, it is usually not safe to remove much fat directly from the stomach if a tummy tuck is being done. Sometimes patients opt to have fat removed from the back or thighs while the surgery takes place, which does not disrupt the blood supply in the same way. Still, a tummy tuck can be a lengthy surgery, so many doctors opt to do liposuction separately.

The tummy tuck procedure itself can last anywhere from 1 to 5 hours, depending on its complexity. In most cases, the surgeon first creates a cut horizontally across the stomach of the patient. Once the skin has been separated from the abdominal muscles, it is trimmed to remove the unwanted bagginess. Usually the belly button must be freed from its original position and then reattached after all of the skin restructuring is done. Underneath the skin, the abdominal muscles are pulled toward the center to remove any slack and sutured in place. Once this is done and the skin is stitched back together, the surgery is complete.

By now, the tummy tuck is a standard procedure for any plastic surgeon and can be a great option for the right person. If you're not looking to lose weight but could use a little help with a baggy stomach, an abdominoplasty may be a good fit for you. Don't be afraid of the big name- these surgeries take place every day.