Board certified plastic surgeons perform approximately 100,000 abdominoplasty procedures each year. Abdominoplasty is popular among women after pregnancy, massive weight loss, or to improve a pouch of weight or lax muscles focused in the abdominal area.
The abdomen is composed of skin, subcutaneous fat, muscle and muscle fascia. Abdominoplasty involves surgery to treat all of those areas of the body. The procedure may be performed in conjunction with liposuction to remove excessive pockets of fat. In some cases, the rectus muscles and/or oblique muscles have laxed which requires tightening to improve the appearance of the muscles and ultimately affects the appearance of the abdomen.
Abdominoplasty may be performed through three approaches, depending upon the extensiveness required for the procedure, including the following tummy tuck procedures:
Mini TT Abdominoplasty:The mini TT is a less involved procedure and intended for patients that have only slight skin laxity. This procedure does not involve the umbilicus and the incision is made in the lowest part of the abdomen, a discreet location. The procedure may involve liposuction to remove excess fat, skin excision to improve laxity, and rectus muscle laxity improvement.
Standard TT:Standard TT is the most common procedure, performed in over 90% of the patients. This method uses a second incision around the umbilicus for more extensive skin excision and entire repair of rectus muscle laxity (diastasis recti).
Extensive TT:Extensive TT is performed for obese or bariatric people with excessive aprons of fat that extend below the belly. These Plastic surgery cases are performed to excise a significant amount of the skin apron and thus, the incision may extend toward the back. In select cases, a vertical midline incision must be made. This will result with an inverted T shaped scar.
Abdominoplasty is a major surgical procedure and should be performed in a fully accredited surgical facility or a hospital. Dr. Blau takes pride in having top level qualifications, advanced experience, and a wealth of pleased patients to stand out among the rest which is critically important for the abdominoplasty procedure. We invite you to visit Dr. Blau’s practice, sample results of before and after photos and feel confident that you are acquiring the best information to feel comfortable about your decision for abdominoplasty.
